How to Make a 30 60 90 Day Plan with the LSP-R

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How to Make a 30 60 90 Day Plan with the LSP-R

So you’ve taken the LSP-R and filled out your Focus Report. What happens next? Now comes the hard part: implementation. Studies show that 67% of well-formulated strategies fail due to poor execution, and 61% of respondents acknowledge that they struggle to bridge the gap between strategy and day-to-day implementation. [1] Don’t let this become the story of your leadership development! SIGMA’s 30 60 90 Day Plan template can help.

After taking the LSP-R and filling out your Focus Report, you should have a well formulated strategy, or at the very least some specific targets about the leadership competencies you would like to develop. In order to set yourself up for success we’ve created this guide to walk you through the first 30, 60, and 90 days of your action plan.

Make Sure You’re Ready

Before we get started, let’s make sure you’re ready. If you’ve completed all the activities in the Focus Report, you should have the following prepared:

• myZONE competencies: your top development opportunities (i.e., competencies highlighted in blue under the snapshot of your results on pg 3-4)
  
• my3 competencies: the top three leadership competencies you would like to work on, based on how important they are in the eyes of your colleagues, supervisors, and your own experience (see Focus Activity on pg 5)
  
• myFocus competency: the leadership competency you want to prioritize based on how relevant it is to your goals, opportunities, support, and demand (see Focus Activity on pg 6)

If you have not yet filled out any of the above templates, please go back to your LSP-R Focus Report and do so now. This will ensure that you get the most out of the following activities. Please also take some time to fill out the Taking Action form on pg 7. This will help you brainstorm things you want to stop, start, and continue doing, which will provide a strong foundation for drafting your 30, 60, 90 day plan.

Start Your 30 60 90 Day Plan Today

Now that you have everything you need, let’s cover a few foundations. These are the concepts you’ll need to understand before you implement your 30, 60, 90 day plan. They will also help ensure that your implementation is as effective as possible.

• Set SMART Goals: As you prepare to make your plan, keep in mind that goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely). Setting SMART goals is important, because they will keep you motivated and engaged. If you set unreasonable goals (too many, or too big) you are likely to get discouraged and give up on the development process. Instead, set small, bite-sized goals that are aligned with your greater ones. This will give you a sense of accomplishment along the way, and keep you motivated to work towards the bigger picture.

• Get a Coach: Coaching is critical to the development process. Coaches help candidates determine development priorities, find opportunities to learn, and overcome challenges in their development process. Coaches can be both internal or external. An internal coach has the benefit of knowing you and your organization. If you have a leader who is overseeing your development, ask if them if they would be willing to act as your coach. External coaches are another good option. They have the benefit of a fresh perspective and can add objectivity to your feedback and decision-making process. Either way, make sure you have someone with whom you will be able to review your progress. Studies show that coaching helps candidates establish lasting behavior change,[2,3] and makes it significantly more likely that they will achieve their development goals.[4]
  
  Note: If you are unable to find a coach, ask a co-worker if they would be willing to meet with you regularly to review your progress. No formal coaching is required; you can also benefit simply from having someone to hold you accountable to your goals and help you process your thoughts and observations.

• Reflect Regularly: Once you’ve found a coach or accountability partner, agree on a regular time to meet. We recommend meeting once a month for the first three months, then regularly on a quarterly or biannual basis as needed. During the initial meeting, review your LSP-R results and outline your goals and your plan. Consider any feedback or advice your coach may have, and adjust your plan as needed. During subsequent meetings, reflect on your progress, review challenges and opportunities, and (again) adjust your plan as needed. In addition to meeting with your coach, it can be helpful to set aside time once a week, and once a month to review your progress and reflect on your own. This doesn’t need to be long – it can be 10 minutes at the end of each week, and half an hour at the end of each month. What is important is that you are reflecting on your leadership, learning continuously, and setting yourself small goals for improvement.

Draft Your Plan

If you’re ready to draft your plan, take a look at the template below, and follow these steps in order to fill it out:

1. Select your myFocus competency for the drop-down in the top left corner. You’ll see the competency definition appear below. Next, write the three points of guidance given in your Focus Report. These can be found in the myFEEDBACK section of your report (custom content, pg 9-65).
   
2. Spend some time reflecting on the guidance given in your report. Think of practical things you can begin doing to put that guidance into practice.
   
3. Now, outline your goals. What progress do you want to see in this competency over the next 30, 60, 90 days? Think broad. This is where you can cast your vision. For example, if you want to improve your ability to motivate others, your 30 day goal might be to build your own enthusiasm at work, your 60 day goal might be to find tangible ways to encourage others, and your 90 day goal might be to create a rhythm for recognition, constructive criticism, and coaching for your direct reports.
   
4. Once you have your goals, list a few tangible actions you can take in order to accomplish those goals. Think practical and start small. You can always continue to build on these actions later.
   
5. Finally, think of a few metrics for success. How will you know whether you’ve accomplished your goal? In the case of motivating others, you could send a monthly survey asking your direct reports a few simple questions about how motivated they feel at work, and to what degree they feel supported by you in your leadership.

Need Help Getting Started?

If you would like help completing your 30 60 90 day plan, contact us below! We have a team of expert coaches and consultants who would be happy to discuss your goals with you. If you would like additional resources for leadership development, visit our leadership skill development library and check out SIGMA’s coaching and training programs for additional support.

[1] Ordenes, P. (March 13, 2020). 51 Strategy Statistics And 3 Key Lessons To Help You Succeed. Cascade. Retrieved from https://www.cascade.app/blog/51-strategy-statistics.

[2] Baron, L., & Morin, L. (2010). The impact of executive coaching on self-efficacy related to management soft-skills. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31, 18-38.

[3] Sonesh, S. C., Coultas, C. W., Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Benishek, L. E., & Salas, E. (2015). The power of coaching: A meta-analytic investigation. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 8, 73-95.

[4] Harkin, B., Webb, T. L., Chang, B. P. I., Prestwich, A., Conner, M., Kellar, I., …, & Sheeran, P. (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 142, 198-229.