Skip to Content

Introduction for Today's Task

Appreciation

Welcome to your first mission. Your first major assignment is to create your Leadership Development Plan (LDP). To begin this foundational work, your first task is to build your personal Leadership "Appreciation Compass."

This exercise is your first step on the journey, designed to help you discover the core qualities that will guide your own unique leadership style.

Audio Overview 

Prefer to listen instead of read? We've created a short audio overview to walk you through the key points of this task. Just click to play  

​Play Here

Purpose of this task: 

This first task is a reflective exercise to help you calibrate your internal compass by looking at the leaders who have already inspired you. By meticulously observing and documenting what you appreciate in them, you will begin to uncover the talents you want to develop in yourself.

This mission is a direct path to:

  • Defining Your Values: Uncover the core values that truly resonate with you.
  • Mapping Your Potential: Spot qualities in others that reveal your own dormant strengths.
  • Calibrating Your Compass: Define the guiding principles for your authentic leadership style.

Successfully completing this task is the vital first step in deciphering your leadership identity and paving the way to your LDP.


The process for completing this task:

Your submission for Task One: Appreciation will be a Google Sheet. 

Step 1: Identify Your Influencers

List the leaders who have profoundly impacted you. These can be people from your personal or professional life: mentors, colleagues, teachers, or even historical figures and public visionaries.

Step 2: Pinpoint Specific Qualities 

For each leader, describe the specific qualities, skills, competencies or behaviors you admire. Don't just list a word; provide a brief explanation or an example of how you observed these traits in action.

  • Example: Instead of "nice," you could write: "Their ability to calm me down when I am angry."

Step 3: Use an AI to Accelerate Your Insights 

To go from a broad quality to specific skills and competencies, you can use an AI tool (like Google Notebook, Chat GPT, or Gemini) as your brainstorming partner. Simply provide the tool with the quality you've identified, and ask it to suggest a list of underlying skills and competencies.

  • Example Prompt: "I admire a leader who shows great resilience. What are some of the specific skills and competencies that make up resilience in a leadership context?"
  • Your Role: Use the AI's suggestions as a starting point. Review the list and select the skills that resonate most with you.

Step 4: Compile Your Inventory 

Review all the qualities you've identified. Now, consolidate these into one comprehensive list of all the  leadership skills and competencies you truly appreciate. Look for patterns and remove duplicates to create a clear inventory.

The work you will submit:

​

Your submission for Task 1 is a Google Sheet. This "Appreciation Task" will guide your reflections and serve as the foundation for your LDP.

To complete and submit your sheet, follow these steps:

One- Access the Template: Click this link to open the Google Sheet. Once opened, go to File > Make a copy to create your own editable version. Rename your copy to something like "Date_YourName_LDP."

Two- Navigate to "Tab 1: Appreciation Inventory":

    • Column A: Influential Leader: Enter the name of one leader per row.
    • Column B: Qualities/Behaviors Admired: List the broad qualities you admire (e.g., supports others, always smiling and welcoming).
    • Column C: Specific Example: Provide a concrete example of how you saw that quality in action.
    • Column D: Skills & Competencies Observed: List the specific skills you observed (e.g., Planning, Communication, Listening, Empathy).
    • Column F: Final Skills Set & Competencies: In this column, consolidate your findings by looking for patterns and removing duplicates to create a final, clear inventory.

Three- Final Review: Take a moment to review all fields to ensure they are complete. The sheet saves automatically.

Four- Submit Your Work:

    • Click the "Share" button in the top right corner.
    • Change the sharing setting from "Restricted" to "Anyone with the link."
    • Set the access to "Editor."
    • Click "Copy link" and paste it into the Lighthouse submission portal.

Congratulations on completing your first step of building your Leadership Development Plan. We look forward to seeing your work!