feature
One strategy to keep the number of
development goals manageable can be
to set only one goal per competency that
is targeted with the development plan.
Another strategy can be to set a maxi-mum
number of goals for the entire plan
– research has found that setting three
or four goals led to increased 360 ratings
and leadership effectiveness in coaching
interventions.
INTEGRATE THE
DEVELOPMENT PLAN WITH
OTHER SYSTEMS
By integrating the development plan into
aspects of work, it will seem more rele-vant,
be more salient and receive more
support from the organization. Integrate
the plan with two areas: other career
development systems and the organiza-tion’s
long-term business plan.
With respect to other career develop-ment
systems, it’s important to integrate
the plan into processes like mentoring,
coaching, performance reviews or fur-ther
assessments. For example, a mentor
can be specific in their guidance and sup-port
if they are aware of the goals in the
development plan. Or, 360 assessment
questions can be customized to measure
progress in achieving development goals,
which gives the survey more impact.
The development plan can also be in-tegrated
with the organization’s business
plan. Think about if there is any way that
personal goals can be set to align with
this year’s business targets. For example,
a start-up business would be heavily in-vested
in promoting their new brand. If
your development goal is to improve your
presentation skills, this fits well with the
key objectives of the organization.
OBTAIN FEEDBACK ON GOAL
ATTAINMENT
It’s important to realize that the devel-opment
plan doesn’t need to be a static
document. Rather, employees get the
most value from using a development
plan when they can track how well they
are achieving their objectives. The best
way to do this is to ensure that develop-ment
plans are measurable – the feedback
is immediate when you can objectively
check “yes” or “no” to whether a goal has
been achieved. Keep a spreadsheet with a
goal checklist to facilitate this.
Researchers find that feedback on goal
attainment leads to better quality de-velopment
plans in a number of ways.
Feedback acts as a check-in to revise
goals to be more realistic if they turned
out to be too challenging, or to add more
goals to the plan once past goals are
met. Importantly, feedback can also be
a wake-up call to change strategies for
goal attainment if what is currently be-ing
done isn’t working.
As HR professionals, you know the
basics. Development plans should help
you, or the individuals you work with,
reach peak performance and progress in
your careers. ■
Leann Schneider, M.A. is a consultant
with Jackson Leadership Systems Inc. and
Tim Jackson, Ph.D. is president of Jackson
Leadership Systems Inc.
Ross & McBride LLP
www.rossmcbride.com
BY INTEGRATING THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
INTO ASPECTS OF WORK, IT WILL SEEM MORE
RELEVANT, BE MORE SALIENT AND RECEIVE
MORE SUPPORT FROM THE ORGANIZATION.
26 ❚ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
