A professional development plan (PDP) is a structured framework to help individuals identify and chart a plan for deliberately developing themselves to achieve their ambitions. It’s sometimes called individual development plan (IDP). A PDP is based on awareness, ambitions, values, feedback, reflection, goal-setting and potential actions within the context of skill-building, work or one’s career. They are a systematic approach to help individuals continuously develop the necessary skills and knowledge to be ready when opportunities arise.
Used over time, PDPs help individuals build learning and development as a skill. The ability to learn is one of the most critical leadership skills of the future according to CEOs. Used over time, personal development planning gives individuals control over their career and take responsibility for their development.
The Professional Development Navigator™ (PDN) is an automated professional development plan process and framework that works like a satellite driving navigation system to help individuals navigate their careers. The PDN allows individuals to take a snapshot of their skills, goals and development needs at a point in time and then construct the plan and actions to accomplish them. Over time, the PDN becomes a tool for individual reflection.
Used continuously by individuals, the PDN helps individuals build learning as a skill. Used across a large group of people, organizations can map development needs at scale while building a learning culture. In this way the PDN enables organizations to create a win-win approach by building continuous learning into their ways of working while supporting all employees in owning their development and achieving their potential.
