Having completed your Self-Assessment, the next step is to develop a Personal Leadership Development Plan (PLDP). This plan, simply, is a list of some core traits, other qualities and skills on which you intend to focus your personal development efforts, either to sustain strengths that your Self-Assessment indicates that you have or to overcome weaknesses that you have found you have.  If, despite having identified some traits, qualities and skills on the bottom line results of your Self-Assessment Worksheet and after reflecting on the feedback which you may have recieved from your professor or Myers-Briggs qualified counselor, you are still uncertain which core traits, other qualities and skills you want to include on your Plan, you may want to check the "Suggestions for Professional Development" given here_____

Your Plan should be one which identifies, for each trait, quality or skill listed, some general steps and some specific actions that you will take during your next assignment to further develop your strength in those traits, qualities and skills.  It should be a plan which sets goals and deadlines for taking and completing the actions you intend.  It should be a plan that you maintain in a readily available and visible format so that you can track your progress.  

You may structure the Plan in any format and detail that will be convenient for you and assure that you keep it accessible so that you will constantly refer to it and follow it. Regardless of the format you use, however, adhere to the following guidance.

-List the core traits, the qualities and skills on which you have decided to begin working.
-Then, for each trait, quality or skill, state one or two general "steps" that you will take to strengthen it.
-Finally, for each of those "steps" state a number of specific "actions" that you will take to begin working toward accomplishing that "step".

--To be effective an "action" should be something you can do in your next job that will let you begin to practice improving your trait, quality or skill.

---Actions should be specific and scheduled (every day/week/month/etc) or have a deadline (by the end of the first quarter/etc.).
---They should be supported by reminders elsewhere (entries in calendar/lists/journals) that make them readily visible so that you are reminded to do them.
---There should be a place in the Plan to check them off when you have taken them or when they have been completed so that by seeing progress you will be motivated to continue implementing them until they become a habit.

The attached example suggests one format for a Plan that can be maintained on several pages (or even on several 5x8 cards) for ready reference in your desk drawer and used to keep track of implementation. As noted above, that format is not required and you may desire to format your Plan into your calendar/schedule/task book, keep a separate notebook, do it on a white board, or on your computer.  Some examples of how other students have formated their plans follow on this website. 

-Just structure your Plan so that its "actions" do not just become another set of "New Year’s Resolutions" but really force your to implement the Plan and complete the actions.

Sign your Plan as a commitment to yourself that you are going to carry it out and turn it in.