Practical Leadership Development Guide

Build Your Leadership Development Plan

1. 1

   Identify Your Development Needs

   Start with the responsibilities you hold now and those you want to prepare for. Consider a recent challenge: a difficult conversation, a project that lost direction or a change your team found hard to understand. Ask a colleague or manager what you handled well and what could improve. Choose one or two priorities rather than trying to develop every skill at once.

2. 2

   Set a Specific Practice Goal

   Translate a broad ambition into something you can do and review. Instead of ‘be a better communicator’, try ‘at each weekly team meeting, explain the priority, invite questions and confirm who will do what’. Set a review date and decide what evidence you will collect. A clear goal helps you connect learning to your everyday responsibilities.

3. 3

   Choose Relevant Learning

   Match your learning to the priority you have identified. IILM’s programme focus includes leadership development, management practice, professional development, training and workshops. Discuss your needs with IILM before choosing a session. Reading, peer discussion and mentoring can also inform your practice; a course alone is not a substitute for applying what you learn.

4. 4

   Apply Learning in a Real Situation

   Choose an appropriate, manageable opportunity to practise. You might chair a meeting, delegate a task with clear expectations, support a colleague or explain a proposed change. Agree any necessary boundaries with your manager. For a student or emerging leader, a group project or community activity can provide a useful setting without requiring a formal management position.

5. 5

   Seek Feedback and Reflect

   After the activity, ask for specific observations rather than a general rating. What was clear? Where did someone need more support? What would you repeat or change? Compare this feedback with your original goal. Record your own observations too, including what did not work, and use them to choose your next practice opportunity.

6. 6

   Record and Review Your Development

   Keep a short record of the learning activity, the situation where you applied it, the feedback received and your next action. Review progress at your chosen date. If a goal is not producing useful change, adjust the approach rather than simply adding more courses. Continuing professional development should remain connected to your work and future responsibilities.

A Worked Practice Example

A mid-career manager wants to delegate more clearly. Their suggested plan is to agree the purpose, deadline and decision-making boundaries of one task with a colleague, then schedule a check-in. Afterwards, the manager asks whether the brief was clear and whether the colleague had enough support. They record the feedback and revise the next brief. This is an illustrative exercise, not an IILM member testimonial.

Start From Your Career Stage

A student may focus on taking responsibility in a group project. A professional may work on communication and team effectiveness. An entrepreneur may practise delegation as a business grows. A government official or senior leader may focus on strategic leadership and applying learning in public service. Choose a starting point that reflects your actual responsibilities, rather than assuming one programme suits everyone.

IILM’s pathways connect different audiences with leadership learning, membership and continuing development. Membership grades remain Student Member, Member, Associate Fellow and Fellow. Explore the published requirements and discuss the appropriate pathway with IILM; completing an exercise or attending training does not automatically confer Fellowship.

Continue Learning With IILM

IILM is a professional institute and membership body, not a degree-awarding university. Its practical learning and CPD support professional development; IILM CPD is not externally accredited. Check News & Events for seminar announcements and contact IILM to discuss relevant learning and current availability before making plans.

Further Reading

The Center for Creative Leadership discusses using challenging real-life assignments to practise new leadership skills and behaviours. This supports the emphasis on workplace practice in this guide; it does not imply affiliation with or accreditation of IILM.