Leadership Philosophy and Action Plan
Knowing and refining your principles and your approach toward leading people is a lifelong
exercise toward being an effective leader. Using the principles of this class, you will outline your
leadership philosophy and an action plan for your own development in approximately 10 doublespaced, typewritten pages. It is important to note that a major objective of this course is for
students to apply the course material to their own situations and self-improvement. To assist with
this objective, your action plan should outline the specific steps you would take to implement
selected aspects of the course. The purposes of this exercise are to give you (a) the opportunity to
develop a concrete strategy for changing some aspect of behavior or of yourself that you feel
needs development, (b) added appreciation for the complexity involved in applying behavioral
science concepts to managerial problems, and (c) an additional opportunity to demonstrate your
mastery of the course material.
Your paper requires you to reflect deeply upon yourself AND integrate those reflections into
what you will have learned in the course. Be sure to integrate material from the readings into
your thoughts. Cite those concepts appropriately and list your references in a reference section at
the end of your document (the reference page does not count in your length requirement). I do
not care what style you use for references, so long as you use one.
In this essay, you must address the following:
1. Look inward. In this class, what have you learned about YOUR strengths and needs for
improvement regarding leadership and interpersonal effectiveness?
2. Look outward. Contemplate your own leadership philosophy. That is, how can you most
effectively harness your own strengths to motivate others toward a goal? If you had to
condense your leadership philosophy down to 10–no more, no less–guiding principles,
what would they be? (Make sure you pick your own, not ones that others have written or
that you find anywhere else.) How do these principles reflect both who you are and what
you now know about leadership and interpersonal effectiveness?
3. Look onward. Describe, in concrete, actionable terms, your action plan for becoming an
increasingly effective leader and team member. This section should include a description
of your specific goals: short-term (the next 12 months), mid-term (1 to 3 years), and longterm (3 to 5 years). Then, describe your strategy for achieving these goals
