The Best Way to Create a Custom Leadership Development Plan?

Every organisation needs great leaders. But not every leader is the same, and that’s a good thing! That’s why a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership development doesn’t work. If you want your leaders to truly thrive, you need a custom leadership development plan that’s tailored to them; their strengths, challenges, goals, and the unique needs of your organisation.

In this blog, we’ll explore how to create a custom leadership development plan that builds high performance, unlocks potential, and helps leaders grow in the right direction.

Why a Custom Leadership Development Plan Matters

You wouldn’t give every team the same project or measure success the same way in every department, so why would you train every leader the same?

A custom leadership development plan:

Targets the right skills for your team and culture
Supports both current and future goals
Identifies gaps and growth areas
Builds confidence and performance in real-world settings

At Penny Strutton, we believe leadership development should feel real, relevant, and results-driven. That’s why we design bespoke programmes that reflect your leaders’ challenges and strengths, while also moving your business forward.

Step 1: Start With Self-Awareness

Every great leader begins by looking inward. Before you build a plan, you need to understand where the leader currently stands.

Ask questions like:

What are their natural strengths?
What are their biggest challenges?
How do others see their leadership style?
What do they want to improve?

Tools like personality profiles, 360-degree feedback, and leadership assessments can help. This isn’t about labelling people, it’s about giving leaders the chance to reflect, grow, and lead more effectively.

Want to explore tools that can support your team and leadership development? Check out Lumina Psychometrics, designed to provide valuable insight into your team.

Step 2: Define Clear Goals

Without clear goals, a development plan can quickly lose direction. These goals should be tied to both personal growth and business performance.

Good goals are:

Specific – “Improve team engagement by 20%,” not just “be a better leader.”
Measurable – Use data, feedback, or progress reviews to track improvement.
Realistic but challenging – Goals should push leaders out of their comfort zone while still being achievable.

Also, think beyond just “hard” skills. Emotional intelligence, adaptability, and communication are just as important as strategy and decision-making.

Step 3: Make It Personal (And Practical)

This is where customisation really kicks in. No two leaders have the same learning style, team dynamic, or pressure points. Your plan should reflect this.

Here’s how to personalise:

Use real-life challenges – Apply learning to current projects or team issues.
Match the right learning style – Some leaders thrive in workshops, others in one-on-one coaching.
Blend learning methods – Combine coaching, mentoring, peer learning, online resources, and reflection exercises.

For example, a leader who struggles with delegation might work on that skill during a live project, supported by coaching and feedback from peers. At Penny Strutton, we create bespoke leadership journeys that mix learning and doing, so development feels relevant from day one.

Step 4: Support Growth With Feedback

Development isn’t a one-time event, it’s a process. And to grow, leaders need regular, constructive feedback.

Build feedback into your plan:

Schedule monthly or quarterly check-ins
Encourage feedback from peers, direct reports, and mentors
Use feedback to adjust and evolve the plan

When feedback is part of the culture, leaders stop fearing it and start using it to fuel growth.

Step 5: Align With Organisational Strategy

A strong leadership development plan doesn’t stand alone. It should be closely connected to your business goals, reflect your company culture, and help drive your future vision forward.

For example:

If your company is scaling fast, leaders may need to build team structures and delegate more.
If you’re focusing on innovation, leaders may need to improve creative thinking and experimentation.
If change is on the horizon, resilience and communication become key.

That’s why we work closely with organisations to align leadership plans with their strategic priorities. Read more about how we help organisations lead through change here.

Step 6: Measure Impact

You’ve invested time and energy into developing your leaders, but how can you tell if it’s actually making a difference? The key is to track progress in a few meaningful ways.

Look for behaviour changes: are your leaders putting their new skills into action day-to-day? Check your business results, has performance improved in areas tied to their development? Don’t forget to ask the team: do people feel more supported, motivated, and inspired by their leaders? And finally, consider leadership confidence itself: are your leaders feeling more capable, engaged, and ready to take on new challenges?

By gathering this kind of feedback over time, you can measure what’s working and what needs adjusting. This turns your leadership development plan into a living, breathing strategy that grows with your people, instead of just being a one-off training session that’s quickly forgotten.

Final Thoughts: Build Leaders, Build the Future

A custom leadership development plan isn’t just about ticking training boxes. It’s about shaping confident, capable leaders who are equipped to take your organisation into the future. When you tailor development to the individual and align it with your business, it becomes a powerful tool for growth and transformation.

At Penny Strutton, we don’t believe in copy-paste development. We work closely with leaders and organisations to create high-impact, personal leadership journeys that create real change. Ready to design a custom leadership development plan for your team? Let’s talk. We’d love to help you unlock leadership potential at every level.

FAQs

1. How long does it take to build a custom leadership development plan?
It depends on your needs, but we usually recommend starting with a 3-6 month framework. This gives time to assess, plan, implement, and adjust based on feedback.

2. Can leadership development help with succession planning?
Absolutely. A tailored development plan helps prepare future leaders by building the exact skills your organisation needs – before they step into more senior roles.

3. What if I don’t know where to start?
That’s okay! Many organisations come to us unsure of the first step. Contact us and we’ll help you map out the right path for your leaders, starting with where you are today.