Leadership Development Plan: 6-Month Template for HR and Managers

8 min read ยท 2026-10-25

A leadership development plan is a structured, time-bound plan that builds the specific skills your leaders need through assessment, personal goals, learning, real stretch work and regular review. It works at two levels: a program plan that HR or L&D runs for a cohort, and an individual plan that each leader owns with their manager.

Most plans fail in the same way. A workshop series runs, people enjoy it, and six months later nothing has changed in how teams are led. The fix is to tie the plan to a short list of business-relevant competencies, give each participant a stretch assignment where they must use the new skills, and involve their manager at every checkpoint. The 26-week template below does that, with owners and milestones you can track.

The roadmap at a glance

Goal: By week 26, every participant has an approved individual plan, has completed the learning modules and a stretch project, and shows measurable progress on two or three target competencies. Duration: 26 weeks

  1. Needs and scope (Weeks 1-3)

    Link the program to business needs and pick the right participants.

    • Interview the executive team on the business goals for the next two years and the leadership gaps that put them at risk.
    • Review existing data: engagement survey results by team, exit interview themes, succession plans and performance reviews.
    • Decide the audience: new first-line managers, mid-level managers or high-potential future leaders.
    • Agree the selection criteria and the time commitment with department heads.

    Milestone: Program charter signed by the sponsor, with business goals, target audience, cohort size and time commitment.

  2. Competency model and assessment (Weeks 3-6)

    Define what good leadership looks like here and where each person stands.

    • Choose four to six competencies, such as giving feedback, coaching, delegation, decision making and leading change.
    • Write behavior examples for each one at basic, solid and strong levels.
    • Run a 360-degree feedback survey or a structured manager assessment for each participant.
    • Add a self-assessment so participants compare their view with others.

    Milestone: Competency model published and an assessment report delivered to every participant.

  3. Individual development plans (Weeks 6-8)

    Turn assessment results into a personal plan each leader owns.

    • Hold a debrief session for each participant with a coach or HR business partner.
    • Have each participant pick two or three focus competencies and write a goal for each.
    • List the actions for each goal across on-the-job work, coaching or mentoring, and formal learning.
    • Meet with the participant's manager to agree the stretch assignment and the support needed.

    Milestone: Every participant has an individual plan signed by them and their manager, with a named stretch assignment.

  4. Learning modules and coaching (Weeks 8-20)

    Build skills through short sessions applied right away at work.

    • Run monthly half-day workshops on the chosen competencies, each with practice and a job task to apply before the next session.
    • Set up peer learning groups of four to six people who meet every two weeks to discuss real cases.
    • Pair each participant with a mentor from a senior level or provide group coaching.
    • Share short readings or videos between sessions instead of long courses.

    Milestone: All modules delivered, attendance tracked and each participant has logged at least one applied action per module.

  5. Stretch projects (Weeks 10-24)

    Give each leader real work that tests the new skills.

    • Launch the stretch assignments: leading a cross-team project, running a process change or covering for a senior manager.
    • Ask the sponsor of each project to set one clear outcome and a check-in schedule.
    • Hold a midpoint review between the participant, their manager and the project sponsor.
    • Collect feedback from the people the participant led during the project.

    Milestone: Stretch projects completed with an outcome report and feedback from the sponsor and team members.

  6. Review and next steps (Weeks 24-26)

    Measure progress and decide what each leader does next.

    • Repeat the 360-degree survey or manager assessment on the focus competencies.
    • Have participants present what they learned and what changed in their team to a panel of senior leaders.
    • Update each individual plan for the next six months and feed results into succession planning.
    • Write a program review with lessons for the next cohort.

    Milestone: Program review presented to the sponsor, with competency change per participant and updated succession data.

Individual leadership development plan: what to include

Each leader's plan should fit on one page. Build it as a document or a simple table in Word or Google Docs. Put the leader's name, role, manager and review dates at the top. Then add one block per focus competency.

Many organizations use the 70-20-10 model as a rough guide: most development comes from experience on the job, a smaller part from coaching and feedback, and the least from formal courses. Treat it as a rule of thumb, not a formula. The point is that a plan with only training courses in it will not change much.

  • Focus competency: one of the two or three chosen from the assessment.
  • Goal: what the leader will do differently, in observable terms.
  • On-the-job actions: stretch work, new responsibilities, meetings they will run.
  • Coaching and feedback: mentor, coach, peer group or manager check-ins.
  • Formal learning: the workshop, course or reading tied to this goal.
  • Evidence of progress: feedback, results or examples that will show change.
  • Review dates: midpoint and end, with the manager.

Example: a plan for a cohort of new engineering managers

Picture a software company that promoted twelve senior engineers to engineering manager over the past year. Engagement scores in their teams dropped, and two people cited unclear feedback in exit interviews. The VP of Engineering sponsors a six-month program.

Notice how the stretch projects come from real business needs. Leading the on-call redesign tested decision making and influence far more than any workshop could.

  • Weeks 1-6, Scope and assess (owner: HR business partner, with VP Engineering): twelve managers selected, five competencies chosen (feedback, coaching, delegation, prioritization, cross-team influence), 360 surveys done.
  • Weeks 6-8, Plans (owner: each manager with their director): each person picks two focus areas. Example: a manager scoring low on delegation commits to handing sprint planning to a senior engineer.
  • Weeks 8-20, Learning (owner: L&D lead): three workshops on feedback, coaching and delegation, peer groups of four, a director as mentor for each.
  • Weeks 10-24, Stretch (owners: project sponsors): projects such as leading the on-call rotation redesign or running the hiring loop for a new team.
  • Weeks 24-26, Review (owner: VP Engineering): second 360 survey, team engagement pulse, presentations to the engineering leadership team, updated plans.

Who owns what

Leadership development is shared work. HR designs and runs the program, but the participant's manager has the most influence on whether new skills get used. Make that role explicit and give managers a short guide on what you expect from them.

Put the roles in a RACI and share it at the kickoff, both with participants and with their managers.

  • Executive sponsor: links the program to business goals, opens the kickoff, attends the final presentations.
  • HR or L&D lead: designs the program, runs assessments and workshops, tracks progress.
  • Participant: owns their individual plan, completes actions and asks for feedback.
  • Participant's manager: agrees the plan and stretch assignment, holds monthly check-ins, gives feedback.
  • Mentor or coach: supports reflection and challenges the participant's thinking.
  • Project sponsor: sets the stretch project outcome and gives feedback on performance.

How to present it to leadership

Executives approve development programs when they see a business problem being solved. Open your one slide with the problem: for example, engagement falling in teams led by new managers, or no ready successors for three critical roles. Then show the six phases on a 26-week timeline, the cohort size, the time each participant will spend per month and the three measures you will report.

Leave session agendas and content details in the appendix. Ask for two things: the sponsor's time at kickoff and the final review, and a commitment from department heads to free participants for the workshops and stretch work. Without that time, the plan stays on paper.

Metrics to track

Attendance and satisfaction scores tell you whether people showed up and liked it. They do not tell you whether leadership improved. Add measures of behavior change and team results, even if they are imperfect.

Take a baseline in phase two and measure again at the end. Report the change per competency and per participant, and share the results with participants first.

  • Competency change: difference between the first and second 360 or manager assessment on focus areas.
  • Plan completion: share of planned actions completed by each participant.
  • Team engagement: change in engagement or pulse scores for participants' teams.
  • Retention: voluntary turnover in participants' teams compared with the previous period.
  • Succession readiness: number of participants rated ready now or ready soon for a bigger role.

How to adapt the plan

For a small company with three or four managers, skip the formal competency model. Pick three behaviors with the CEO, use a short manager assessment instead of a 360 survey, and replace workshops with monthly coaching and one book or course per quarter. The individual plan and the stretch project stay, because they do most of the work.

For senior leaders, shift the focus from management skills to strategy, influence and leading change. Use executive coaching, cross-functional projects and exposure to the board instead of classroom sessions. For a single person writing their own plan, use the individual plan section above and agree it with your manager before you start.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Building the program around a catalog of courses rarely changes behavior, so center each plan on a stretch assignment and on-the-job actions.
  • Choosing competencies that do not link to business needs makes the program easy to cut, so start from the executive team's goals and the gaps that threaten them.
  • Leaving the participant's manager out lets new habits fade, so require the manager to sign the plan and hold monthly check-ins.
  • Giving every leader the same plan ignores real differences, so base each plan on an assessment and limit it to two or three focus areas.
  • Measuring only attendance and satisfaction hides the real result, so repeat the assessment at the end and track team engagement.
  • Ending the program at week 26 with no next step wastes momentum, so update each plan and feed results into succession planning.

Frequently asked questions

What should a leadership development plan include?

It should include the business goals behind it, the competencies to build, an assessment of where each leader stands, personal goals and actions, learning and coaching, a stretch assignment, review dates and the measures used to judge progress.

How do you write a leadership development plan for yourself?

Ask your manager and a few peers for honest feedback, pick two or three skills to build, and write a goal for each in observable terms. Add on-the-job actions, a mentor or coach, one learning resource and review dates, then agree the plan with your manager.

How long should a leadership development program last?

Many programs run between six and twelve months, so participants have time to apply skills at work and get feedback. Shorter programs can work for a single skill, but behavior change needs repeated practice over several months.

What is the 70-20-10 model in leadership development?

It is a common rule of thumb saying most learning comes from experience on the job, a smaller part from relationships like coaching and feedback, and the least from formal training. Use it as a guide to balance your plan, not as a strict formula.

How do you measure leadership development?

Compare assessments of the focus competencies before and after the program, track completion of planned actions, and watch team engagement, retention and succession readiness. Combine these with feedback from the people the leader manages.

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