Assignment 2: RA 2—Professional Development and Mentoring Plan

In this assignment, on the basis of your research, readings, and understanding of leadership and coaching/mentoring theories, approaches, and models encountered thus far in the program, you will create a professional development plan for yourself as a leader and a coaching/mentoring plan for your employees/followers.

Tasks:

In a 10- to 12-page paper, formulate a plan and strategy that will guide and enhance your professional development efforts. Build on the literature review that you have already completed in Module 4 and craft a development plan that will improve your own professional and coaching/mentoring skills as well as develop the skills of your subordinates/team.

Include the following in your plan and support/justify your responses with appropriate citations, references, examples, and experiences:

• Introduction and background: Identify your current position in a work unit and your team (or a previous position or team). Assess your preferred leadership orientation/style, your strengths and weaknesses, and your team's strengths and weaknesses. Evaluate how your and your team's personality characteristics, attitudes, and values might influence your and your team's professional development and growth.
• Theories and concepts: Consider the various leadership theories, concepts, and approaches and the coaching/mentoring theories and models:
  • Identify what you consider to be the core principles and characteristics of effective leadership. Discuss how you might enhance your professional leadership skills.
  • Assess your own stage of moral/professional development and discuss which of these theories, concepts, and/or approaches would be most relevant and effective to adopt in your own development strategy.
  • Identify what you consider to be effective key concepts to coach/mentor and develop others.
  • Assess your subordinates' readiness or need for growth and development. Then, discuss which of the theories, concepts, and/or approaches would be most relevant and effective to adopt in your strategy to coach/mentor their development.
• Opportunities and networking: Leaders are often pioneers and creators. Identify opportunities, within and outside of your organization, that you can seize to professionally grow yourself and your team (employees, followers, etc.). How might you "model the way"? How might you inspire a shared vision and build a learning community or organization? How might you seek and utilize innovative ideas, technology, and social networking in your and your team's professional growth?
• Empowerment and recognition: Analyze the long-term value of providing recognition to motivate and enhance employee skills and analyze how to develop and empower others and foster trust and collaboration.
• Development and mentoring: On the basis of your analysis and discussion of the above four areas, create a development plan for yourself and your followers. Conclude this paper with an outlined development and mentoring plan in the form of a bulleted list, including brief step-by-step activities and explanations.