MLI500: Leadership and innovation

Assessment 1: Leadership Development Plan

Context

Drawing on a variety of self-assessments of your traits and psychological preferences, you will analyse your traits, learn how others perceive these traits, and create a self-development plan based on these insights. 

Using this information you will plan and monitor your own leadership development goals using Goal Attainment Scaling.

Assessment Tasks

This assessment is a 1500-word personal development plan that requires you to systematically reflect on your own confidence, willingness and preparedness to lead.

Specifically, your assignment needs to address this question:

What are two key internal (e.g., perceptions, thoughts, mindsets) or external behaviours that I need to change in myself in order to improve my confidence, willingness and ability to contribute to leadership work in the context of uncertainty?

You must address all of the following questions, which relate to your leadership-related goals, leadership development and learning needs, strategy and action plans:

• What are the area of leadership to which you would like to make a more effective contribution? How did these development needs come to your attention?
• How does this area of leadership foster innovation and/or help people deal with uncertainty?
• What would be the specific contribution you would like to make? How does this translate into a specific development goal?
• If you were able to develop your leadership in this area, what would you be doing differently or better?
• What is your learning strategy for your development work?
• What specific action steps might you take to reach your goals?

Please ensure you consult this assessment’s marking rubric prior the submission of this assessment item

Summary of Assessment Requirements

Assessment 1: Leadership Development Plan requires students to create a 1,500-word personal development plan focusing on self-reflection and leadership growth. The task is based on self-assessments of traits, psychological preferences, and how these are perceived by others. The ultimate aim is to design a leadership development plan using Goal Attainment Scaling.

Key pointers to be addressed in the assessment:

• Identify two key internal or external behaviours to change for improving confidence, willingness, and ability to lead.
• Highlight areas of leadership where the student wants to make a more effective contribution and explain how these needs were identified.
• Explain how the chosen leadership area fosters innovation or supports dealing with uncertainty.
• Translate the identified contribution into a specific development goal.
• Reflect on what improved leadership in this area would look like in practice.
• Outline a learning strategy to achieve the goal.
• Provide specific action steps that support leadership development.
• Align the plan with the assessment rubric to ensure coverage of evaluation criteria.

Academic Mentor’s Step-by-Step Guidance

1. Understanding the Task:

   The mentor began by clarifying the purpose of the assignment – not just writing about leadership theory, but applying self-reflection to create a practical and measurable plan. The importance of Goal Attainment Scaling was explained as the foundation for tracking progress.

2. Identifying Development Areas:

   Through guided self-assessment exercises (traits, personality tests, and feedback from peers), the student identified two key internal behaviours that needed improvement – for example, managing self-doubt and improving active delegation.

3. Connecting Leadership to Innovation & Uncertainty:

   The mentor encouraged the student to link these behaviours to the larger context of leadership. For instance, addressing self-doubt enhances decision-making during uncertainty, while delegation fosters innovation by empowering team members.

4. Formulating Development Goals:

   With mentor guidance, the student translated the broad areas of improvement into SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). Example: "Increase confidence in leading group discussions by practicing structured communication techniques and seeking feedback weekly over the next three months."

5. Creating the Learning Strategy:

   The mentor walked the student through potential strategies such as mentoring sessions, leadership workshops, reflective journaling, and simulation exercises to strengthen targeted skills.

6. Defining Action Steps:

   A step-by-step plan was drafted, breaking goals into actionable tasks (e.g., setting weekly reflection notes, attending monthly leadership training, seeking regular peer feedback).

7. Structuring the Development Plan:

   The mentor emphasized clear structure – introduction, identification of traits, development goals, strategies, and action plan – while ensuring alignment with marking rubric requirements.

Outcome & Learning Objectives Achieved

By following this process, the student successfully created a coherent, evidence-based leadership development plan that:

• Reflected self-awareness and recognition of growth areas.
• Connected leadership behaviours with innovation and uncertainty management.
• Outlined concrete development goals with measurable outcomes.
• Demonstrated strategic thinking through a structured learning plan.
• Highlighted practical steps to monitor and track progress.

Learning Objectives Covered:

• Critical self-reflection and self-assessment.
• Application of leadership theories to personal development.
• Understanding of leadership in contexts of change and uncertainty.
• Practical goal-setting and action planning.
• Development of lifelong learning strategies for leadership growth.

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