please help with a intro and conclusion:

Introduction

I will be preparing a seven-year leadership plan. This plan will include my goals for the next seven years and my reasoning behind my goals. I will explain in my own words what makes a good leader and what type of leader I strive to become. I will have two examples of situations where I showcase the skills and abilities of the type of leader I am becoming.

Seven Years from Now

Where I would like to be professionally seven years from now is something I had to put a lot of thought into. When I first started school, I was a credit analyst for a construction company, when I left that company and started at Progressive Insurance four years ago I had decided to go back to school to finish my accounting degree. After leaving my accounting role for a processing role in the Salvage Unit at Progressive, I had a supervisor who was unlike any leader I had met before. She cared about my development and inspired me to become more of a leader than a follower. It was then I changed my degree at Franklin University to Management and Leadership, still unsure of what I wanted to do but I know I wanted to make others feel how she made me feel and I wanted to help others be successful in their roles. Fast forward three years and I am now a LADR at Progressive. This is a rotational program where I lead and mentor employees into their new roles over a twelve-week period. Within the next year I plan to become a supervisor leading a team hopefully in the Salvage department, but opportunities are endless at progressive, and it is unsure where a supervisor position that fits me best will open in the next year. After that I plan to become a great supervisor and stay in that role for quite some time. I want to lead a great team and help drive results that upper management will see as remarkable. While in that role I plan to continue my development by assisting in other group as in lead the mentorship program, or LADR group just like my previous supervisor that inspired me has done. What I have enjoyed most in my leadership journey so far is helping others develop and grow. I enjoy interview prep and helping others see what they don't see in themselves to start. After five years as a supervisor and leading the other groups, I plan to become a manager at Progressive. In that role I would be above supervisors and help them lead their teams. I would plan to stay in that role for the foreseeable future, maybe in the seven years changing departments and help take what I have learned in the salvage department and the groups like the mentorship program and LADR program and develop those practices in another department where development isn't a big focus.

What makes a Good Leader.

What makes a good leader is authentically themselves and stays true to their own truth while helping others and staying within the department goals. A good leader remains positive in change and through challenging situations, while helping others succeed and remaining true to themselves. A good leader is direct but listens to their peers and followers and show empathy. A good leader relates to their followers and helps work with them to find the best solutions that fits the follower individually. A good leader dedicates time to development and supports growth and change, they do not try to keep people where they are just because of selfish reasons or intent but assists their followers to be the best they can be and achieve everything they plan to achieve. A good leader communicates, builds trust, and have excellent problem-solving skills. My supervisor I spoke about that inspired me so much that I changed my major and whole direction in my career has all these qualities and I ultimately think she is the prime example of the best leader.

Type of Leader

The type or style of leader I wish to become is an Authentic leader. Authentic leaders are self-aware, and they lead by example with integrity, empathy, and transparency. Authentic leadership means being true to yourself no matter the environment or working situation you're in. I want to become this type of leader because this type of leader remains true to themselves and their values, which inspires others and creates a positive work environment. I believe that the qualities an authentic leader have such as a sense of purpose, self-discipline, strong values, empathy, self-awareness, people centered connections, transparency and shared success are all qualities that I already have and continuing to improve on. By taking who I am with self-discipline and hard work I believe a authentic leader will be the least challenging type of leader ship to achieve as well as the best style of leadership there is.

Abilities and Skills

A good leader should have integrity, self-awareness, courage, respect, compassion, and resilience. They should be learning agile and flex their influence while communicating the vision, showing gratitude, and collaborating effectively. (Leis & Wormington, 2024) These are all skills and abilities an authentic leader possesses. As said before, I believe that the qualities an authentic leader have such as a sense of purpose, self-discipline, strong values, empathy, self-awareness, people centered connections, transparency, and shared success. Things that I will need to change or improve on would be my strong values. I can sometimes have a difficult time standing up and sticking to what I believe in. I also have been working on transparency and relating to my mentees. When I first started in leadership I would more lead by do as I say not as I do. I have learned in just a few shorts months just how rewarding admitting mistakes and relating to your followers can be and I work every day and at every one on one to be transparent about my own struggles to help my peers relate to me. I believe being transparent, honest, and open to feedback is important and I will continue to work on these practices.

Examples

Scenario 3: Leading Through Organizational Change

In this situation I would encourage both employees to meet and collaborate. I would meet with Mark the tenured employee and Emily the younger employee both separately first. I would explain to mark that the traditional ways won't be lost and that we need his input on the changes as I am sure he has seen what has worked and hasn't worked over the last twenty years. I would also be transparent about why this change is beneficial to the company while supporting that his input is valuable. I would meet with Emily to personally to share with her how to strengthen her skills to adapt to Marks resilience to change. I would encourage Emily to listen to Mark because by listening to him she will have a better understanding of what has worked and hasn't worked in the past and avoid spinning the wheel again. I would also encourage Emily to take Marks input and include him in the changes along the way to build trust between the two. I would work closely with both employees to build a relationship and to support her ideas of change and alignment through out the reorganization process.

Scenario 4: Handling Employee Performance Issues

I would meet with Lisa and ask if everything is ok, showing empathy. I would ask Lisa what she feels is working with the coaching and additional resources provided what as well is not working and continue to work with her on those issues by setting up more one on one meetings to check in and explain the importance of meeting deadlines is for the department and her peers. I would start to take some things off of Lisa's plate until her performance improves and give the responsibilities to Mike. I would involve Mike's input in what he believes can fix the situation or make him less frustrated. I would give Mike more responsibilities because I believe in him and I would express that through open communication and transparency. I would ask that he also checks in with me weekly with his thoughts on how he is doing and ask for his ideas on how I can better support him while trying to support Lisa at the same time.

Conclusion