WRITING YOUR
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
by Dr. Linda Phillips-Jones
We believe that good planning will help you find and become good mentors. This is the third activity in our series on planning. If you missed the first two, see Creating or Revising Your Personal Vision (Tool #1) and Writing a Personal Vision Statement (Tool #2).
If you've completed the first two exercises, you're now ready to write a Personal Development Plan for yourself.
Below you'll see a sample Development Plan and a blank one for you to use. The sample is only to trigger your thinking. Your own plan will probably look very different. Notice how the person plans to work on three objectives. For each objective, there are measures, development activities, potential mentors, and a timeline. Try these steps:
- 1. Print out the blank Plan.
2. Look at your completed Draft Vision Statement again, and choose one goal that will help you take a first key step toward reaching your vision.
3. Write the goal in the space, "My First Major Goal."
4. In the first column, write up to three steps/objectives that will help you accomplish one key part of your Goal.
Write the objectives as skills, knowledge, or attitudes to attain. Some people choose easy objectives that can be reached immediately (in order to build success and momentum). Others choose the most important objectives that will ensure they'll master the goal.
5. For each objective, choose a measure/proof to show you've reached it, at least one learning/development activity (class? book? internship? research on the Web?), some potential mentors who could help you, and finally a target completion date (December 31, 2000?) by which you'll reach the objective.
Take at least an hour to work on your plan. Use a pencil if that feels better than a pen or computer. Talk to someone you respect about your proposal, and make changes as needed. Be sure your plan is challenging and compelling enough to excite you every day but not so difficult that you won't do it.
| My First Major Goal: I will make significant progress on my formal education by the end of 2000. | ||||
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acquire/improve?) |
(How will I know I did it?) |
Activities (How will I actually gain/ build/develop these?) |
Mentors (Who might help me with my development?) |
Completion Date (When will I be there?) |
| 1. Enroll in an appropriate Internet-based degree program. |
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-Research Web -Contact potentials -Submit transcript -ID best Apply |
-Mary (did this last year) -Chen (knows Web) |
End of month 3 |
| 2. Complete 2 required courses for degree | -Receive final grades (at least B+) | -Do all assignments |
-Assigned instructors -Jack (retired teacher) |
Ends of months 6 and 9 |
| 3. Complete 1 elective course that counts toward degree | -Receive final grade (A) |
-Do all assignments -Teach my sister the subject |
-My spouse -Assigned instructor |
End of 2000 |
| My First Major Goal: | ||||
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acquire/improve?) |
(How will I know I did it?) |
Activities (How will I actually gain/ build/develop these?) |
Mentors (Who might help me with my development?) |
Completion Date (When will I be there?) |
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Repeat this process for your second and third major goals.
Congratulations! You've not only prepared a draft of your Personal Vision, you've also identified several steps you can take to make it happen. You now have something tangible to use as you identify potential mentors and negotiate helping partnerships with them.
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