How’s your development plan going? If you’re like most people, I’m guessing – not well.

Chances are, about eight months ago, you sat down and created a list of actions to help develop yourself. You might have felt quite committed when you wrote them all down. But then life happened – things got busy, and your development went on the backburner.

When a prompt finally nudged you to reflect on your progress, you revisited your list and wondered, “What value were these activities supposed to add again?” Without a good answer, you filed your plan away. The next time you look at it will probably be in March, just in time for your performance review and next round of development planning…

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone! Development plans aren’t the issue; it’s usually the process that needs improvement. It’s fair to say, it’s challenging to do it well. Even I seek support with creating mine as part of my continuing competence requirements.

So if you’re keen to grow but frustrated with your current approach, stay tuned for future posts. I’ll share some suggestions on how I help leaders and organisations develop plans that really work, and hopefully inspire you to do something different with yours.