6 Steps to Create a Leadership Blueprint to be the Leader you Want to Be (with examples)

A blueprint is a design or pattern that can be followed. If you want to build the best tree house ever, your best bet will be to draw up a blueprint first and follow that design carefully. If you want to be the best leader you can be, your best bet is to draw up a Leadership Blueprint that makes sense for you, your team, and your situation; and again follow that design carefully.

Just going through the process of putting together your Leadership Blueprint will make you a better leader, because you will have a better understanding of who you are, who you want to be, and how to best support your team.

The examples provided are from my personal Leadership Blueprint, and are meant to just provide you with an idea of what a Leadership Blueprint might look like. Your Leadership Blueprint should be specific to you, your team, and your situation.

Step 1: What is your MISSION as a Leader?
In his bestseller book titled The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Stephen R. Covey suggests that individual mission statements may be the most critical activity to take control of your life, as part of his second habit: begin with the end in mind. Your leadership mission defines who you want to be as a leader, which provides you with focus and direction to ensure you follow the right path to become the leader you want to be.

Think about the following questions when writing your leadership mission:

1. What is important to you?
2. What do you value about other leaders who inspire you?
3. How do you want to act?
4. What are you most proud of as a leader?
5. What do you want to commit to?

Here is my Leadership Mission:

“My mission is to be an honest, inspiring, and impactful leader. I am committed to challenging myself and developing as a leader, and to support others to achieve their goals and grow as individuals. As a continual learner, I will strive to meet these objectives, will self-reflect and make corrections when things go wrong, and will continue to develop myself and others to ensure success.”

Step 2: What does Leadership MEAN to you?

If you Google the word leadership, you’ll get millions of results with different definitions. There are many different leadership styles as well as different paths to effective leadership. Leadership does not mean the same thing to all people, and can even mean something different to the same person in different situations. That’s why it is important to identify what leadership means to you? How are you defining leadership?

Here is what leadership means to me:

The ability to inspire people to achieve what they thought unachievable

The ability to provide a vision and clear sense of purpose for our work

Setting goals and ensuring the appropriate resources are available to achieve those goals

Step 3: What do you VALUE?

Your Leadership Blueprint should identify what you value as a leader, so that you can do your best to live by those actions every single day. Your values are a reminder to stay true to yourself when faced with challenges or tough decisions, and create the foundation for being the leader you want to be. Your values also send a message to your followers so they know what to expect from you, and to hold you accountable for those values.

Here are my leadership values:

Honesty — being truthful

Open Communication — freedom to express ideas and concerns with each other

Work/Life Balance –prioritizing to ensure personal life AND job satisfaction

Fun — an environment where we have fun and enjoy working together

Teamwork — working together to achieve common goals

Effort –giving your very best every single day

Step 4: What do you EXPECT from your team members and yourself?

To be an effective leader, it’s important to consistently communicate what you expect from others, and even more important to “walk the talk” by having the same expectations for yourself. Create expectations that inspire and challenge you and your team to be the best they can be, while making sure they are realistic and do not put a strain on you or your team. When developing your list of expectations, be sure to get input and feedback from your team. Doing so will encourage commitment and support. Once those expectations are defined, they can be translated into day-to-day habits.

Here is my list of expectations:

Plan — Plan your weeks and days to ensure you are managing time effectively and getting the important work done

Balanced Decision Making — when making decisions, take all factors into account to ensure the appropriate balance is achieved

Continual Learning — In order to survive in this world of constant change, it is important to always be learning and developing yourself

Accountability — be accountable for your actions and decisions, meet deadlines and get work done in a timely manner

Innovation — always think about how we can do things better, be more efficient, and proactively think of ways to prevent issues

Goals Alignment — ensure your individual goals are aligned with the department and the company

Be a Solutions Person — don’t always say “yes”, or always say “no”; be a person that does not just agree with everything, and does not just disagree with everything; but is always willing to explore solutions to meet stated objectives

Learn from Mistakes — mistakes are expected especially when you challenge yourself, but you should always learn from them and share your learnings with others

Agreeing to Disagree — there may be times where we agree to disagree. Once a course of action is decided on, it should be supported by all parties

Active Listening — become better listeners through techniques to improve active listening

Self-Awareness — understand your strengths and weaknesses and how others perceive you

Support the Business — we are here to support the business strategy and to empower business users to be successful

Step 5: What can your team expect from YOU?

To be a truly effective leader, you should not only identify what you expect from yourself and your team, but also what they can expect from you. Work with your team to find out what they expect from you, agree on what you can actually deliver, and put that in your Leadership Blueprint. Doing so will not only provide you with the focus to help your followers be the best they can be, but also will allow you and your team to hold you accountable for those behaviors.

Here is what my team expects from me:

Keeping Commitments — I will follow through on my commitments

Leading by Example — I will not ask anything of you that I am not willing to do myself

Resolve — I will do what I believe is right, even when it is unpopular, for the good of our team, the department and the company.

Personal Development Opportunities — I will invest in your career growth through learning opportunities and by providing challenging and rewarding work

Feedback & Appreciation — I will commit to providing you with ongoing feedback

Step 6: What will you COMMIT to as a leader

Finish your blueprint with a final statement that shows commitment to everything in your Leadership Blueprint. Your commitment statement should show your dedication, intention, and focus to become the leader you want to be.

Here is my commitment:

I will continuously strive towards meeting these objectives, and will always welcome candid feedback from my team and peers. I am passionate about achieving success together, and will do everything in my power to make that happen.