Your manager has asked you to send over a development plan before the next one-to-one. The whole skeleton fits in a few plain sentences. Say where you are now, where you want to head, and the skill or experience that sits between the two. Add a few actions with dates, who or what will help, how you will show progress, and when you will look at the plan again.
A useful plan can fit on one page. Below you will find what goes into each part, a filled-in example for an ordinary job, a one-page plan you can fill in and download, ways to build skills that cost little or nothing, and words for the conversation with your manager.
If you are still looking for goal ideas, the professional development goals post has plenty to borrow.
- Keep it to one page short enough that you will actually reread it
- Start from where you are your role, strengths and evidence
- Pick one to three goals each with an action, a date and a way to show progress
- Mix ways to learn practice, feedback from people and, if one fits, a class
- Review it and change it talk it over with your manager and update it as work shifts
What goes in a development plan
Most plans, whether from a company, a university or a government office, are built from the same handful of parts. Duke's HR guidance describes the plan as something you and your manager return to through the year, and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management lists much the same parts for its own employees. You can scan the parts here:
- Where you are now: your role, strengths and what you already do well
- Where you want to head: the kind of work or responsibility you are moving toward
- The gap: the skill or experience that sits between the two
- Actions, with dates: what you will do, and by when
- Support, evidence and a review date: who or what helps, what shows progress, and when you will look again
Some employers hand out their own form, so check for one first. If there is one, use it, and use this layout to prepare your answers. Teachers usually fill in a form their school or education authority sets, such as the New Jersey Department of Education's planning pages; start from that form and use the sections below to think through what to write.
A filled-in plan you can copy
The plan below is for an office administrator at a small property-management company, and the same shape works in a shop, a warehouse, a classroom or a spare room with a laptop. Swap in your own job and keep the layout.
A plan is not a promise of a promotion or a raise, and it does not need to be long. Its job is to give you and your manager something specific to talk about.
| Plan section | Example (office administrator) |
|---|---|
| Plan sectionCurrent role | Example (office administrator)Office administrator in a small property-management company, three years in |
| Plan sectionStrengths | Example (office administrator)Reliable calendar management, clear writing to tenants and suppliers, accurate records |
| Plan sectionDirection | Example (office administrator)Coordinate office operations and support basic reporting within the year |
| Plan sectionGap | Example (office administrator)Intermediate spreadsheet skills, monthly reports, purchasing and budget tracking |
| Plan sectionGoal | Example (office administrator)Improve spreadsheet and reporting skills; build coordination experience |
| Plan sectionActions | Example (office administrator)Take a low-cost spreadsheet course; rebuild one existing report; lead a small project to standardize supplier-contact records; shadow the person who checks invoices |
| Plan sectionSupport | Example (office administrator)A few hours of work time; sample reports with private details removed; feedback from a colleague and a supervisor |
| Plan sectionEvidence of progress | Example (office administrator)A monthly vacancy and maintenance report with correct formulas; the new record format in use by the team; three invoice checks done correctly |
| Plan sectionTarget dates | Example (office administrator)Course by March, first report by April, project by June, invoice checks by August |
| Plan sectionReview date | Example (office administrator)April, July and September, with an annual review in December |
The one-page development plan
A printable plan with a filled-in example, a checklist and room for your own role and goals. Enter your email, click the link we send you, and the download is yours.
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Start with where you are now
You do not need a long self-assessment to begin. List the tasks that make up your job, then mark each one by how it feels today: you do it alone, you do it with occasional help, you need more practice, or you have not had the chance yet. Next to each, jot a piece of evidence, such as a finished project, a report, a thank-you note or a deadline you kept. Put in your strengths as well as your gaps, because a plan built only on gaps is hard to start.
Then ask your manager or an experienced colleague a few plain questions. Which skill would most improve my work? Which parts of my job are strongest? What would show I am ready for more? Which project would let me practice safely? Treat what you hear as input to weigh against your job description and your own aims, not as a final verdict. If the feedback is about performance, ask for specific examples.
If you have five minutes, jot three tasks and one strength on your phone and stop there. With a free afternoon, go through last year's work and collect the evidence. Everything here is free, and a notes app is plenty.
Ways to build a skill besides a course
A development action is anything you plan to do that builds or shows a skill, and a course is only one kind. Some of the most useful ones sit inside the work you already do:
- Shadow someone for an hour or two
- Take on one stretch task with a clear scope
- Run a small project, such as a new checklist or template
- Ask a mentor or a peer for feedback on one piece of work
- Read something short and try it on a task that already exists
You may have heard of 70-20-10, a common way to describe learning mostly through work, from other people and in classes. It is a handy prompt to mix practice, feedback and classes, not a rule that needs exact percentages; a published review found weak support for the 70 percent figure.
| Action | Cost | Time pattern | What shows progress |
|---|---|---|---|
| ActionFree reading or tutorials | CostNone to low | Time patternShort, flexible sessions | What shows progressNotes applied to a work task |
| ActionShadowing | CostUsually low | Time patternOne or more scheduled sessions | What shows progressObservation notes and supervised practice |
| ActionStretch assignment | CostUsually low | Time patternBuilt into work | What shows progressA finished piece of work and feedback |
| ActionMentoring | CostNone to low | Time patternRegular conversations | What shows progressAgreed actions and your own reflection |
| ActionCourse or certification | CostModerate to high | Time patternFixed or flexible schedule | What shows progressCompletion, plus using it on real work |
| ActionVolunteering or committee work | CostUsually low | Time patternA scheduled commitment | What shows progressA real responsibility and what came of it |
On a five-minute day, ask a colleague one question about how they handle a task. With a free afternoon, try a technique on a task that already exists, or spend a Saturday hour with a library book or a free tutorial. If money is tight, none of these needs any, and your employer may have training you have not heard about yet.
Wording your goal and your direction
A professional objective is the kind of work you want to move toward, and it should be short enough that a manager can read it in ten seconds. "Coordinate office operations and support monthly reporting" does the job. If you are not sure yet, that is fine; write the nearest next step and let the longer direction stay open. A good plan still works.
It helps to separate two timelines. Short-term goals cover roughly the next three to twelve months. A longer career life plan is the direction you are heading over several years, and it is allowed to change. If you want help finding that direction, Barcelona Activa offers plain prompts: what do I do well, what do I like doing, what do I value, and what work fits all three.
Then phrase each goal as an action with evidence and a date. "Build confidence presenting project updates by giving two five-minute updates by June and asking for written feedback" tells your manager exactly what you will do. A few more you could adapt:
- Give two short updates at team meetings by June, and ask one person for a comment after each
- Learn the basics of the team's reporting tool this quarter, and build one report from start to finish
- Shadow the invoice checker for two sessions by August, then do three checks with feedback
- Run one team meeting before October, with the agenda and follow-up list written by you
- Hand over my shift notes in a standard format for a month, and ask my supervisor if it helps
If you want a format for writing goals, the SMART goals examples post walks through one.
Talking it over with your manager, and reviewing it
Most plans follow the same rhythm through the year, although the exact schedule follows your employer's process. Emory's template, for instance, builds in a review about every 120 days.
Before you write
gather your evidence and a few questions for your manager
Agree the first steps
share the draft and settle the first actions
One-to-ones
a quick progress check in the meetings you already have
Every three to four months
a fuller look at actions, obstacles and changes
Year end
update the plan for the next year
When it is time to look at the plan together, you can open with something like this: "I would like to review the development goal we agreed on. I have completed these actions, I am making progress here, and I need help with this barrier. Can we agree on the next step and date?" Bring your original goal, what you did, any evidence, the obstacles you hit, one request for support, and a proposed change if the goal no longer fits.
A plan is allowed to change when priorities shift, and saying so is part of a good review. You can also ask what skills and evidence the next role expects. Promotion, pay and openings are decided by your employer, so treat the plan as a way to build and show skills, not a promise.
Plans for different weeks and workplaces
Not every plan looks like the office example, and none of these assumes spare money or a quiet desk. Treat them as ideas to borrow, not as real people's stories.
With little budget and little time, an office worker might spend an hour each Saturday on a free spreadsheet tutorial, practice on sample data with private details removed, and ask a colleague to look over one report. A retail supervisor on changing shifts might shadow an experienced supervisor for two shifts, read the store's scheduling guidance, and lead two short team briefings with feedback afterward. Someone working remotely around caring duties might give two five-minute project updates and ask for written feedback each time.
If your employer has no training budget and you are thinking about a different field, a library or free course, two small practice projects, a conversation with someone doing the work and a comparison of job descriptions make a solid plan. Claim only the skills you have actually built. A teacher might improve one assessment technique using school-approved guidance, with a colleague observing with permission, and fit it into the school's own form.
If you are switching fields or weighing a course, a career adviser, a professional association or the course provider can answer questions a plan cannot. If your plan touches workload or a disputed review, HR or a union representative can explain how the process works.
1. Which goal is clearer?
2. Which of these counts as evidence of progress?
3. Your employer already has its own development plan form. What now?
4. What do you bring to a review?
Questions people ask
What should be included in a professional development plan?
A solid plan has your current role and strengths, where you want to head, the skill or experience gap, actions with dates, the support you need, evidence that will show progress, and a review date. Some employers add a place for the manager to agree. Check whether your workplace has its own template first.
What is an example of a professional development plan?
The office administrator plan in the table above is one, with one goal and four actions, plus support, evidence and dates. Another is the retail supervisor who shadows two shifts, reads the scheduling guidance and leads two team briefings, with the manager noting progress. Both are ideas to borrow rather than real stories.
How do I write a professional development goal?
Write it as an action with a way to show progress and a date. For example, "Learn the team's reporting tool this quarter by building one report from start to finish, and ask a colleague to check it." If you have to choose, one clear goal beats three vague ones.
What is a career life plan, and how is it different from a development plan?
A career life plan is the longer direction you are heading in over several years, and it can change as you do. A development plan covers the next year of actions. One can feed the other, and you can leave the long-term part as "not sure yet."
What are examples of short-term professional goals?
A short-term goal covers the next few months. You might give two short updates at team meetings by June, learn the basics of the team's reporting tool this quarter, or shadow a colleague for two sessions before the end of the summer.
How often should I update my development plan?
Glance at it in your regular one-to-ones and give it a fuller look about every three to four months. Then update it for the new year at your annual review. The exact rhythm follows your employer's process, and a plan helps you build and show skills; the employer decides promotion and pay.
One thing to try this week
Open the one-page plan and fill in just three boxes: your role, one strength with a piece of evidence, and one skill you would like to build. Then put a ten-minute talk on the calendar with your manager or a colleague you trust, with a review date a few months away. Motivation Facts keeps more guides like this in the Career Growth section, and you can reach us any time through the contact page.
Development plan. A short written plan for your growth at work, with goals, actions, dates and a review.
Development need. A skill or experience that would help you do your work or take on more.
Development action. Anything you plan to do that builds or shows a skill, such as shadowing or a small project.
Evidence of progress. Something you can point to, such as a finished report, a checklist in use or written feedback.
Stretch assignment. A task slightly beyond your usual work, taken on with support to build a skill.
Shadowing. Watching a colleague do a task so you can see how they do it.
Review date. The day you and your manager agree to look at the plan again.
Sources
- Duke University HR, Professional Development Plan
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Career Development
- University of Nebraska, Professional Development Planning
- Emory University, development plan template sample
- New Jersey Department of Education, Individual Professional Development Planning
- Clardy, "70-20-10 and the Dominance of Informal Learning"
- Barcelona Activa, Toma decisiones sobre tu perfil
