Development Planning
Development planning with EDGE is an ongoing process of building the skills and competencies you need to achieve your goals. It's the part of performance management that also looks beyond your goals to set you up for future success. Stanford's approach to development rests on two principles that pull in different directions: Strengthen what you do today and Evolve what you’ll need for tomorrow. One keeps you grounded, the other keeps you moving.
Why development planning matters
Development planning clarifies what employees want to achieve and gives managers a way to support their growth. This can create better conversations, stronger relationships, and stronger talent pipelines.
Grow within the job you have
Build the skills and confidence to perform well in your current role and contribute at your best.
How people learn: The 3E Model
Borrowed from research at the Center for Creative Leadership, this model reminds us that the vast majority of critical learning comes from on-the-job experiences, followed by exposure, and then training.
Exposure
Learning from people whose judgment you trust includes seeking mentorship or coaching, shadowing a peer who does it well, soliciting multi-source feedback, and asking for advice as you build your network.
Holding Effective Career Conversations
Career planning plays an important part in development planning. The following is guidance for managers and their teams on conducting effective career conversations with an emphasis on a collaborative, employee-driven approach to development. This approach is organized by employee and manager's respective responsibilities, and often guided by the GROW Model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will).
Tips for Employees
Preparation for the conversation should be driven by you, the employee, using the GROW framework:
- Articulate your vision: Define where you see yourself in one, three, and five years.
- Identify motivators: Reflect on your interests, values, and motivations.
- Know your ideal role: Consider what your dream role would be if current skills or money were not an issue.
Identify preferences: Determine the most rewarding parts of your job (or past jobs), and also what you specifically do not like doing.
- Assess satisfaction: Determine the most rewarding or frustrating aspects of your current role.
- Evaluate challenge level: Ask if you feel challenged or stretched, and what would make your role more challenging.
- Review feedback: Integrate performance reviews, 360 assessment results, or other feedback received from others regarding your strengths and weaknesses.
- Acknowledge obstacles: Identify potential obstacles (like geography, skill sets, or fears) that may impede success, and decide which you are willing to change.
- Determine skill development: Identify what you can do immediately to develop skills useful for your goals.
- Seek opportunities: Explore stretch assignments, cross-functional projects or committees, or other experiences that you could pursue.
- Research development: Consider networking, shadowing, or mentorship options.
- Set concrete actions: Determine specific actions you will take and establish timelines ("What will I do? By when?").
- Define required support: Clarify what resources, specific skills, or advocacy/support you need from your manager or other leaders.
EDGE Resources for Managers
Guiding your team's development
Your support in guiding your team through their development journey is important. Encouraging independent reflection, regular check-ins, and ongoing learning builds strong employees who can take charge of their growth at Stanford.
Explore EDGE resources on the Manager Toolkit
Tips for Managers
Managers facilitate the conversation, seeking the "Sweet Spot"—the overlap between the employee’s abilities, opportunities, and interests and the organization’s needs—to ensure mutual benefit.
- Gather insights: Know your employee's likes, dislikes, strengths, and aspirations.
- Know the environment: Research upcoming opportunities and the future direction of the employee's field or organization.
- Prepare questions: Determine which questions to ask and which possibilities to explore with the employee.
- Set the tone: Create a comfortable and trusting atmosphere. Provide undivided attention and ensure a psychologically safe environment.
- Let the employee lead: Encourage the employee to take ownership of their career development, while assuring support.
- Align goals: Discuss long-term goals and ensure they align with organizational objectives.
- Use effective questioning: Employ open-ended, exploratory, and probing questions to encourage deep dialogue (e.g., "What do you hope to accomplish?" or "How can I help?").
- Avoid harmful actions: Do not allow the conversation to become a performance review. Do not dictate actions or make promises (e.g., promotion or transfer).
- Address challenges: If the employee has seemingly unrealistic goals, ask probing questions (e.g., "What are your plans to achieve this?") to help them reach their own conclusions, rather than outright dismissing the goal. If you cannot provide what the employee needs, help them connect with other resources or managers.
- Agree on actions: Work with the employee to set objectives and next steps.
- Fulfill commitments: Follow through on any promises made regarding networking, shadowing, or introductions.
- Integrate information: Communicate the employee’s interests upward into the talent planning phase. Combine this information into the employee's individual development plan.
- Monitor progress: Follow up on the agreed-upon action plan during regular one-on-one meetings.
Training and Resources
Development Planning: Program training (web-based)
In this training, employees will learn how to identify development opportunities, set actionable goals, and build a plan for strengthening skills and competencies. Managers will learn how to support meaningful development conversations, provide guidance and resources, and help employees turn their development goals into action.
Launch the Development Planning training in STARS
At this time, there is no action to take in Sequoia for Development Planning. We encourage you to instead use our Individual development plan (IDP) template to document and track your development priorities, action items, and progress.
The template provides a centralized place for you and your manager to capture meaningful development conversations and revisit your priorities throughout the year, helping keep your development plan visible, accessible, and up to date.
- Individual development plan (Template)