How to Create a Leadership Development Action Plan

Crucibles of Leadership

By Robert J. Thomas

We have known for decades that a huge percentage of leadership learning comes from challenging and varied experiences (see The Lessons of Experience, by Lombardo et al). However, there has been virtually no work done on how people learn from those experiences. That is a key issue, as some people learn a great deal from those varied and challenging experiences, while others do not. Robert Thomas has addressed this key gap in the literature on leadership by shining a light into the black box of what he calls "crucible" experiences. After interviewing close to 200 highly effective leaders, Thomas found several key patterns to how they had learned to lead from challenging experiences that had made them stretch. The common denominator he found is that they all had a personal learning strategy that enabled them to systematically learn from those challenging experiences. He then walks the reader through a reflective process the leads to the development of a personal learning strategy. Extremely useful and actionable.  Read More...

First Things First

By Steven R. Covey

Covey asserts that in order to lead a fulfilling and productive life we need to be clear about what we want to accomplish over the long term. First Things First walks the reader through a step-by-step process to create a life mission statement which can serve as the underpinning of all that you do. This is an extremely powerful way of clarifying priorities that can be helpful in ensuring that how you spend your time and how you appoach important life/career decisions are in alignment with what is truly important to you. Read More...