Your Career, Your Control: Build Your Own Integrated Leadership Blueprint

Take ownership of your career by proactively developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for enabling your climb.

Are you a professional with an eye on the next rung of the career ladder?

Whether you're a high-potential individual contributor, a seasoned first-line manager, or a rising leader, the path from "managing" to "leading" is your personal responsibility. Forget passively waiting for your company to hand you a development plan – it's time to design your own Integrated Leadership Blueprint, built on the powerful 70:20:10 learning model.

The corporate journey, from individual contributor to C-suite executive, isn't just about promotions; it's a fundamental transformation of your capabilities and mindset. The most successful professionals don't just react to opportunities; they proactively prepare for them.

Your career journey ... only YOU can decide

Understanding the Evolution: More Than Just a Title

Let's quickly recap the fundamental shift. Your career progression typically looks something like this:

• High-Potential Employee: You demonstrate an innate ability to influence, guide, and maybe even informally mentor peers. This is where the spark of management interest often ignites.

• First-Line (Frontline) Manager (e.g., Team Lead, Supervisor): Your first formal step. Here, your role is heavily weighted towards management (around 80%) – think task execution, process adherence, and direct team supervision. Leadership is present in motivating, but the focus is operational.

• Second-Line Manager (Manager of Managers): You're developing other managers. The balance begins to shift; you're still managing, but leadership demands are amplifying. You're shaping culture, fostering collaboration, and contributing to broader departmental goals.

• Senior Leader (Director, VP): Strategy, vision, and organizational impact dominate. Your role is primarily leadership (60-70%+), guiding larger teams or functions, and influencing across the organization.

• C-Suite Executive (CEO, COO, CFO): The pinnacle. Here, leadership accounts for 80% or more of your responsibilities. You are defining the company's future, inspiring all employees, and navigating complex external landscapes. Management, while still present, is largely delegated.

Critical Insight

At every single level, both management and leadership Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) are required. The difference lies in their proportion and complexity.

• Management KSAs: Planning, organizing, coordinating, budgeting, problem-solving, process efficiency.

• Leadership KSAs: Vision-setting, inspiring, motivating, empowering, developing others, strategic thinking, influencing, fostering innovation, building culture.

Your Integrated Leadership Blueprint: A 70:20:10 Approach to Personal Growth

This is where your proactive approach comes in. Why wait for your annual review or a corporate training program to tell you what you need? Instead, take control and build your personal Integrated Leadership Blueprint. This isn't just a concept; it's a dynamic, actionable plan for your individual growth, and it leverages the highly effective 70:20:10 learning model:

• 70% Experiential Learning (On-the-Job): Most of your growth comes from doing. This means taking on stretch assignments, leading projects, navigating challenges, and learning from successes and failures in real-time.

• 20% Learning from Others (Social): This involves mentorship, coaching, peer learning, and networking. Observing how others lead, discussing challenges, and getting direct feedback are invaluable.

• 10% Formal Learning (Structured): This includes courses, workshops, certifications, books, and online modules. This provides foundational knowledge and frameworks.

Build Your Personal 70:20:10 Leadership Development Blueprint

Here's how to start building your personal blueprint:

1. Define Your "Next": Clearly identify the role or level you aspire to achieve next. Don't just think titles; think responsibilities. What does a successful person in that role actually do day-to-day?

2. Deconstruct the KSAs and Mindset of Your "Next": 

   • Research: Look at job descriptions for that role, talk to people currently in those positions, and observe those you admire.

   • Categorize: List out the key management KSAs and leadership KSAs that role demands.

   • Identify the Mindset: What kind of thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making characterizes someone successful at that level? What are their priorities?

3. Assess Your Current State: Be brutally honest. For each KSA and mindset component you identified for your "next" role, where are you today?

   • Strong: I consistently demonstrate this.

   • Developing: I have some capability but need to grow.

   • Emerging: I'm aware of it but haven't had much practice.

   • New Territory: I have very little experience here.

4. Prioritize High-Impact KSAs: Don't try to master everything at once. Focus on the high-priority KSAs that will give you the most leverage and visibility for your target role. These are the ones that will enable you to perform with the mindset and capabilities of the position you're seeking, right now.

   • Example: If you're a first-line manager aiming for a second-line role, perhaps proactively seeking to lead a cross-functional project (70% experiential), finding a mentor who is a strong people developer (20% social), and taking an online course on conflict resolution (10% formal) become your immediate priorities.

5. Build Your Action Plan (70:20:10 in Mind): For each high-priority KSA, identify concrete, measurable actions:

   • 70% Experiential: What stretch assignments can you seek? What projects can you volunteer for? How can you apply this KSA in your current role, even if it's informally?

   • 20% Social: Who can you connect with for mentorship or coaching? What peer groups can you join? How can you get constructive feedback?

   • 10% Formal: What specific books, courses, or certifications directly address this KSA?

Design Your Journey

Why This Matters to You (and Your Organization)

This individual-driven approach to an Integrated Leadership Blueprint is profound. It shifts the power of development into your hands. While organizations play a crucial role in providing resources, opportunities, and support, your initiative is the true catalyst.

By proactively building these KSAs and demonstrating the mindset of the next level, you not only accelerate your own career but also become an invaluable asset to your organization. You're not just waiting to be developed; you're actively becoming the leader they need.

Ready to Chart Your Course?

Your career is not a passive ride; it's an active construction. By taking ownership of your Integrated Leadership Blueprint, you're not just waiting for opportunities – you're building the skills, cultivating the mindset, and demonstrating the capabilities that will create those opportunities. Start today.

To truly personalize your blueprint, consider these questions:

• If you're not currently in a management position, have you positioned yourself as a high-potential employee?

  • If not, what will it take?

  • What’s your professional brand? (note: everyone has a brand; you should take the initiative to be intentional about yours)

• If you're seeking a career in management, why do you really want to manage and lead other people?

• If you're already in management, how far do you want to go in your journey?

• If you're seeking a leadership position, why have you chosen this path?

The answers to these questions will empower you to determine the KSAs you need to prioritize at each stage of your career, guiding the development of your personal Integrated Leadership Blueprint.

INSIGHTS by Frontline Decisions

© 2025 TQ Ventures LLC