Uncover the Missing Element from Your Development Plan & How to Write Your Own

I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say that they aren’t getting any sort of development plan from their boss. They have been putting in the hours and made sacrifices in their personal lives to be there for the business. Maybe they aren’t looking to climb the corporate ladder. They want to intentionally be improving, diversifying their skills, or growing in new areas of potential. These people are working hard and just want to know that they are working toward something. They want to feel like they are contributing to not only the organization but also to their own future growth using the best skills they have.

Often told people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers. While is true, as Harvard Business Review found, it’s what those managers do, or don’t do, that causes the move. The problem is, knowing lack of the right development causes people to leave, doesn’t actually fix anything. I wish every organization and manager built this out for their employees. When they don’t though, you can create your own development plan that creates more flexibility and personalization than theirs ever could. I’m going to tell you the critical aspects, why you need them, and how I’ve incorporated them. I’m also going to give you a template so you can put it into use. Click here to grab the personal development plan template right now.

Where did this development plan idea come from?

If you’ve been following the blog since the beginning, you may remember this story. You can read the full version here but, let me share the cliff notes. I had a boss who didn’t think I was very good at my job and denied all manner of formal development I requested. (Even the free ones.) Also, because I was so highly prioritizing my husband and children, I wouldn’t have dared formally develop on my free time without an ask from my manager. I figured out that we are all in control of, and responsible for, our own development. Now, at the time, I was empowered and emboldened to really own my growth. I just wasn’t very organized with a framework.

At the time that I first started putting this into practice, it looked like this. Me, making a list of all my flaws on a piece of paper. Then, listing one thing I could do to improve each, that didn’t require requests and approval. Followed by reporting to my manager what was on the list and asking if there was anything to add. Finally, I would come back each month and discuss my progress. It was sloppy, it was intimidating, and it was exactly what I needed. I had to be able to take back control of my career. Even though most of the things on my sad little piece of paper were items my boss had deemed me sub-par at, it was incredibly empowering to build from there and get to walk in each month with progress in that area.

This development plan is different from (& better than) all the rest

I don’t mean to brag, and I won’t because I totally just fell into this plan myself, but this plan works because it incorporates two critical items that most development plans don’t. Most of the time development plans come from your manager and are based around how to get you promoted within the same job family. Or, if you’re lucky, your boss provides you with a ‘succession plan’ which is a plan to develop you into them and their role. In either case, they roll it out and ask you what you think. After getting a one sentence or one word response, they move on. Now they’re talking about following through on the class and completing the project. It’s a whirlwind conversation but you take the plan and start executing. Maybe you make it through, maybe not. Then you have the whole conversation over again, complete with new plan, next year.

Does that sound familiar? So many organizations do it that way, with great intent, but it’s broken. You need to decide where your journey is taking you. It is your next step, not theirs. You get to decide how you’ll develop, into what, and why you want to go that direction. Your manager may be involved and should provide support, however, this is your plan. Own it. Next, you the discussion of what you’re doing, why, how each step is going, and the progress you’re making needs to be communicated. You need to celebrate the wins and get feedback on what you could have done differently. In a traditional development plan both sides treat it as set it and forget it. You might grow that way but you won’t bloom.

OK, how does this plan work?

There are four essential parts of this plan and a few steps under each section. I want to remind you that you don’t have to try to build this for yourself. Click here to get the development plan template that will walk you through each step.

Setting your intention

As you’re setting your intention for your development, I want you to think about four key areas. First and foremost, what is your vision of success. Not just the next step for you but ultimately, where do you want to be. Knowing the finish line helps you determine the mile markers along the way. Once you know where you’re going, determine what that next step is. What is your next stop on the way to fulfilling your vision? Next, jot down the top priorities you want to focus on in that next role and while you’re working toward it. These might be work/task related or they might be boundaries you want to be sure to keep. Jot down a few words that you want to keep top of mind through the process. Finally, take a moment to note your connections that will help you move toward this next step and your overall vision. Often times that will be your manager, but I would challenge you to include a peer, mentor, or champion as well. Now would be a good opportunity to set some time with them because they can assist with this next step.

Defining your objectives

At this point I want you to work with your connection person to identify 2-3 areas you want to develop and the objectives you want to achieve within each. Note that this doesn’t have to get you all the way to promotion ready. It may, or it may be the first round of you working through the process. Make sure the development areas are clear and relevant to that next step you’re planning to take, and that the objectives support you in getting closer to it. Take it a step further to capture just a little bit of the why as well.

For example, let’s say your development area is public speaking. One of your objectives might be to gain confidence speaking to groups of 20-30 people. Why is this significant? In the next role I’ll often speak to groups of 50-100 and I want to do so with credibility and poise. This why will help keep you on track when you start losing momentum or fear starts creeping in.

Creating your action strategy (and doing the work)

Now it’s time to create your action steps. What is going to help you move on your way to achieving those objectives? Clearly identify an action step for each objective and a target date to complete it by. Share this with your connections that weren’t involved in the build out of the plan. Then, do the work. Take the actions you set out to do and bring the communication back around. Share your experience with your connection person (or people). Track the discussion, including your reflection, and the communication date to hold yourself accountable and keep the artifact for review. Keep going! It may feel a little overwhelming but you’re making progress every step of the way.

Focus on feedback

Finally, we get to practice receiving and understanding the impact of all of your hard work. Remind yourself what your development areas were and complete a self-assessment. For each of your development areas, how confident are you feeling? What objective evidence do you have to support how you’re feeling? Let’s go back to our public speaking example. Hopefully after taking the action of volunteering to present in the department meeting, you’re feeling great. You’re wishing you were a little more prepared on the topic but you know you did well. Objectively, you got great feedback from peers and leaders who were in attendance. What happens from here? Note that you wish you were a little more prepared so maybe your next step is to find an opportunity to speak to a larger group and this time you’ll practice more.

Then, take your notes and your plan and meet with those connections of yours. Set time with your manager and your mentor or peer to talk through your progress. Before you know it you’ll be building out a new plan with added skills and adding more value to the group than you already do. Not to mention, there are now at least 2 people in the organization that know your dedication to growth and what you’re doing to get there.

A few closing suggestions

Don’t wait until you feel as beat down as I did to take back control of your career. Building from a positive or even neutral place is so much more fun and uplifting. Remember when I said my first go round was sloppy, intimidating, and empowering? I’ll take off that sloppy piece with this Personal Development Plan template, and you take off that intimidating piece by building from a firm foundation. The empowering aspect, that one is all you. You’re empowered by making decisions to improve in any areas you choose and by taking the action to get you there.