We encourage you to first Explore your Plum Profile on your own and Explore your Plum Profile with Others.
You can also bookmark cards with key insights and ideas to add to your Focus On plan. Use your Focus On plan to keep track of the items you want to remember, learn more about, or add to your personal development plan.
Now it is time to set your development goals and take action.
Building your development plan
Below are some tips on completing your Plum Development Worksheet to prioritize your goals.
5. Timelines and Key Milestones
1. Development Goals
There are several approaches you can take to choosing a goal:
- Select a Talent to leverage more than you currently do.
- Select a Talent to develop and enhance.
- Select a draining Talent and consider strategies to overcome or work around it.
2. Specific Actions
Breaking your goal down into specific actions gives you a clearer picture of what you actually need to do. Aiming to be “more adaptable” is a good first step but will not get you very far because “more adaptable” can mean a lot of things.
How do you choose the specific actions you want to take?
- Explore the development suggestions for each Talent.
- You may have some of your own ideas of developmental actions you wish to take.
Pick developmental suggestions that:
- Energize you and are something you care about.
- Push you out of your comfort zone.
- Help you meet your current or future goals and aspirations.
Use the 70-20-10 method:
70% of learning is experience-based; on-the-job activities and assignments.
20% of learning is through others; coaches, mentors, job shadowing, and feedback.
10% of learning is through formal channels; seminars, webinars, reading, courses, etc.
3. Obstacles
What are some obstacles or derailers that may impede you in your goal progress? For example, strong attention to detail could mean that you find it challenging to delegate work to others.
Tip: Setbacks will inevitably happen in development. Focus on practicing the behaviors that will improve your skills first, regardless of whether you immediately achieve success.
4. Talents to Leverage
Research shows that leveraging our natural strengths is a more impactful (and enjoyable) development process. Which Talents can you leverage to meet your development goals?
5. Timelines and Key Milestones
Setting measurable goals help to hold us accountable. Reaching milestones also gives us a sense of our progress. What are some realistic, yet challenging timelines or milestones that you can attach to your goals?
Tip: Put reminders in your calendar for your key milestones. It can be easy to forget about your development when you’re busy with everyday work. This will act as a reminder to make development a priority.
6. Resources
Often, the best resources are people - your boss, a trusted colleague, a family member, etc. They can provide you with feedback and hold you accountable.
An organization you work for may also have resources you can leverage, such as a mentorship program or training programs for specific skills.
7. Next Steps
a) Have a conversation with your boss, colleague, friend, or significant other about your Plum Profile and personal development plan. Ask them for feedback. Have a conversation about how they can support you in reaching your goals.
b) Revisit your Development Worksheet regularly. This plan will not be useful if you create it and never look at it again. Schedule a specific time and date in your calendar to review and edit your plan. This way, tracking progress on your goals becomes automatic.
8. Checklist for assessing your Development Worksheet
Review this checklist to ensure that your personal development plan is as strong as it can be:
- Focus on areas that will help you achieve short- and long-term career goals.
- Ensure your development goals push you out of your “comfort zone”.
- Select strategies that leverage on-the-job activities, opportunities for coaching from others, and formal methods of learning (e.g., courses, reading).
- Select Talents to leverage.
- Ensure you have measurable metrics to support progress.
- Share your plan with your boss, colleague, friend, or significant other and incorporate their feedback.
- Share your plan with others who may be able to help support your goals.
