What is a personal development plan?

A personal 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.

What is the Personal Development Guru™?

The Personal Development Guru™ (PDG) is an automated personal development plan process and framework that works like a satellite driving navigation system to help individuals navigate their careers. The PDG 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 PDG becomes a tool for individual reflection.

Used continuously by individuals, the PDG 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 PDG 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.

TalentSage Personal Development Guru

Key features

  • Incorporates a range of development feedback
  • Enables individuals to choose to share their plan with a coach (or not)
  • “Nudges” individuals to help them act on their desires
  • Incorporates SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Applicable, Realistic, and Time-bound)

Why is the PDG™ useful?

  • Provides a process for consolidating a range of development goals
  • Incorporates skills for current and future roles
  • Helps individuals build learning skills and habits, at scale
  • Facilitates active guidance from coaches, if desired
  • Improves learner ownership of development & career success