How To Build A Leadership Development Plan That Actually Works
When you raise the bar on leadership – your own or others’ – everybody wins.
Your church, your organisation, your team, your mission. All of it moves forward.
We all know leadership development matters.
We’ve heard and read about pipelines, cultures, systems, multiplication.
But let’s be honest: leadership development sits squarely in the Important box of our lives, and most days we’re stuck firefighting in the Urgent, or (if we’re honest) drifting away into things that aren’t important at all.
We mean to develop ourselves and our teams…
…but it keeps slipping, and we drift. But you never drift into better.
So I want to encourage you – as the year rounds out and a new one rolls in – to create a simple, intentional leadership development plan.
Starting with you.
Then taking it to those you lead, and see where that goes and what happens next year.
Here’s the good news:
It doesn’t have to take loads of time!
But you need a plan, because ultimately…
Plans are better than goals
Why? Well, pretty much everyone sets goals. We’re fast headed toward New Year’s Resolutions time which are just goals you make with a Christmas paunch or hangover.
But a goal without a plan is just a daydream.
You can set a goal to lose a stone.
But unless you plan what you’ll eat or how you’ll exercise, nothing changes.
Finance? Same story.
Spiritual growth? Same story.
Leadership? Exactly the same.
So let me ask you a simple question:
What’s your plan to develop as a leader this coming year?
Because it won’t “just happen” in any area that matters.
Without an intentional plan to become a better pray-er, giver, leader, communicator, team-builder, listener (pick your area) — it’s very unlikely to happen at all.
Start with Prayer and a Blank Page
Before you grab a book or sign up for a course, take a blank sheet of paper.
Pray:
“Lord, where do You want me to get better this year?”
We know God likes to help give wisdom – it’s not just Solomon who had this kind of prayer answered.
Then write down these two questions:
- How specifically do I want to get better this year?
- What specifically am I going to do to make that happen?
“Be a better leader” is too vague.
It’s like aiming at a barn with a blindfold – you might hit something (or someone), you might not, but you’ll never know.
Where do you need to grow? Be specific:
- Listening?
- Team building?
- Vision casting?
- Preaching?
- Pastoral care?
- Communication?
- Delegation?
- Financials?
- Strategic thinking?
- Prayer life?
- Conflict resolution?
Zero in.
Name it.
That’s where the growth starts.
Key Areas To Shape Your Leadership Development Plan
Here are the kind of lenses I use personally, and with people I have coached:
1. GOAL – What kind of leader do I want others to say I am?
Write a sentence or two describing the leader you want to become for the sake of others.
Not to big yourself up, but to better serve those God has entrusted to you.
Make it a stretch.
If it doesn’t stretch you, it won’t grow you.
Then ask:
- What needs to improve for that to become true?
- What’s the gap?
- Then we are going to consider resources that can help in this area
2. BOOKS & BLOGS – What will I intentionally read?
Don’t just read randomly. I love to read but we are aiming at intentional growth remember.
Don’t just buy more leadership books that sit on the shelf to look good on Zoom calls. Some of the books you need are probably already there waiting for you to blow the dust off and read or reread.
What 2–5 books could really shape the area you want to grow in?
Do you want to:
- Preach better?
- Lead through change better?
- Build stronger teams better?
- Run healthier meetings?
- Think more strategically?
- Grow spiritually?
Choose your reading in alignment with your growth target.
Maybe a few blogs can help too — but again, be intentional (why not subscribe to this one while you’re here?)
3. CONFERENCES – Choose for growth, not habit or hanging out
A lot of us go to the same conferences every year.
Same people.
Same seats.
Same conversations.
Which is nice — but it doesn’t always stretch you.
So ask:
- What conference would actually push me this year? (I am going to suggest LAUNCH if you like this blog! Details soon.)
- Who do I need to learn from?
- What voices challenge my assumptions?
Invest in what will grow you.
4. PODCASTS & ONLINE RESOURCES – Audit and upgrade
There’s brilliant content everywhere.
But content consumption isn’t equivalent to growth.
Ask yourself:
- Which podcasts actually help me lead better?
- Which YouTube channels sharpen my skills?
- Which ones do I need to stop listening to?
Don’t consume everything.
Curate what grows you.
5. RELATIONSHIPS – Who will you intentionally connect with?
Growth happens through people more than pages.
Who do you need to:
- learn from?
- stay connected to?
- invest in?
- coach?
- be coached by?
- get accountability from (and with)?
Who stretches you?
Who sharpens you?
Who inspires you?
Tell them! Then make time for them this year.
It won’t happen by accident.
Why This Matters: Because When You Grow, Everybody Grows
There will always be things in your church or organisation you’d love to change.
Some of them might frustrate you.
Some might feel completely out of your hands.
But here’s something 100% in your hands:
You can become a better leader, the kind others love to follow, if you will work at it intentionally.
And that will always pay a dividend.
When you grow, the people you lead grow.
When you stretch, they stretch.
When you get focused, they become focused.
Start With You – Then Lead By Example
Here’s what I’m doing in the weeks ahead:
- Create my one page personal leadership development plan.
- Share it with my team.
- Saying:
“Please pray for me. Here’s what I’m working on this year.
Here are the steps I’m taking.
And if you’ve any ideas or ways to help me grow, I’d love to hear them.”
That’s leading by example.
Not just telling people what to do.
Showing them.
Then later:
- I’ll help them create their own.
- Not as “goals” they should have…
- But as progress they want to make.
Remember: A plan beats a goal every time
Anyone can set a goal.
Leaders make plans.
Don’t just have a goal to be a better leader.
Work a plan to become one.
And when you raise the bar on leadership — your own or others’ — everyone wins!