What is an IDP?
An IDP — sometimes called a personal development plan, growth plan or learning plan — is the bridge between where someone is and where they want to be professionally. In an organisation it is often agreed with a manager or sponsored by L&D; for an individual it can simply be a disciplined way of taking their own career seriously.
The best IDPs answer four questions: Where am I now? (evidence), Where am I going? (goal and horizon), What will be different this cycle? (objectives), and How will I get there? (a path of actions).
Why most IDPs fail
- They are a form, not a plan. A free-text box and a date, filled in once a year for a review cycle.
- Too many goals. Seven objectives compete for the same two spare hours a week, and all of them lose.
- Activities instead of outcomes. “Complete the leadership course” can be finished without anything changing.
- No evidence at either end. Without a starting measurement and a re-measurement, nobody can tell whether it worked.
- They belong to the employer. When the person leaves, the plan is deleted — so people learn not to invest in it.
What goes into a good IDP
| Component | What it answers | Good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence | Where am I now? | Assessment scores on one scale, each labelled measured or self-rated |
| Big goal | Why any of this? | Years out, in your own words, with the reason it matters |
| Horizon | Which capabilities, by when? | 2–5 competencies with target levels, 6–24 months out |
| Objectives | What will be different this cycle? | Three outcome statements, each with a “known by” |
| Path | How will I get there? | ~70% practice, 20% people, 10% study, sized to real hours |
| Rhythm | How do I keep going? | Short check-ins; one next step always visible |
| Re-measurement | Did it work? | Same scale, compared against measurement error |
How to write an IDP in 7 steps
- Start from evidence. Use a real assessment, 360 or structured self-rating to establish where you are now — and label which numbers were measured and which were self-rated.
- Name the big goal. Write the long-range ambition (years out) and one sentence on why it matters to you. This is what keeps a plan alive in week six.
- Set a horizon. Translate the goal into two to five capabilities, each with a target level and a date 6–24 months away.
- Choose three focus areas for this cycle. Pick no more than three competencies for the next 90, 180 or 365 days. Over-scoping is the most common reason plans are abandoned.
- Write outcome objectives. For each, state what will be observably different at the end — and how you will know. Not “complete a course”.
- Build a practice-led path. Roughly 70% experiences at work, 20% learning from people, 10% formal study. Cut it to the hours you actually have.
- Review, close and re-measure. Check in every week or two, close the cycle with what happened, then re-assess and compare against measurement error.
A worked IDP example
Illustrative — the person is invented; the structure is the one Jobulary produces.
| Big goal | Run a region by 2030, and be the leader people ask to work for. |
|---|---|
| Horizon (12 months) | Delegation & accountability → band 4; Commercial judgement → band 3 |
| Objective 1 | Grow two people to the point where they run a branch week without me. Known by: both have run a full week solo by cycle end, and neither called me on the Wednesday. |
| Practice | Give Anil the month-end reconciliation including the decision, and do not review it. |
| People | Ask a regional manager how she handed over her first branch; shadow one of her handovers. |
| Study | One short course on delegation from the organisation’s catalogue — only if one really fits. |
| Rhythm | Check-in every two weeks; cycle close at day 90; re-assessment at month 12. |
The 70/20/10 rule in an IDP
The 70/20/10 model suggests most development comes from experience (stretch assignments, new responsibilities), a meaningful share from other people (feedback, mentoring, exposure to senior work), and the smallest share from formal learning. Treat it as a proportion to aim for. A plan that leads with a course list is quietly arguing the opposite.
Outcome objectives, not activities
SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) is useful as a check, but the most important test is simpler: could you finish this without anything changing? If yes, it is an activity. Rewrite it as the difference you expect to see — and name how you will know.
| Activity (weak) | Outcome (strong) |
|---|---|
| Complete the negotiation course | Lead the vendor renewal to signature without escalating |
| Improve communication | Run the monthly review so decisions are recorded before the meeting ends |
| Learn about data | Build the weekly branch dashboard my manager now uses instead of the spreadsheet |
Measuring progress honestly
Every assessment has measurement error: test the same person twice and the number moves even if nothing changed. A credible IDP compares the change with that error. As a rule of thumb on a 0–100 scale, Jobulary treats roughly 8 points over 90 days, 6 over six months and 5 over twelve months as the threshold for calling something growth. Smaller movement is reported as held steady — a legitimate result, not a failure.
IDP vs PDP vs performance review
| IDP | PDP | Performance review | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Develop capability toward a goal | Broader personal growth, often self-directed | Evaluate past results |
| Time frame | Cycle of 90–365 days, linked to a horizon | Varies | Usually annual |
| Evidence | Assessment at start and end | Often none | Manager judgement, targets |
| Owned by | The individual (ideally) | The individual | The employer |
IDPs for organisations
For L&D teams, IDPs turn assessment spend into action. The questions worth asking of any IDP programme: does it start from evidence, does it keep plans small, is the path practice-led, can managers help without being a bottleneck, and can you tell — per individual, not as a cohort average — who moved by more than the instrument can explain? See Jobulary for teams.
Frequently asked questions
What does IDP stand for?
IDP stands for Individual Development Plan — a written, time-bound plan for one person’s professional growth, usually agreed between the individual and, optionally, their manager or sponsor.
What should an Individual Development Plan include?
A good IDP includes: current evidence of capability, a long-range career goal, a small number of focus competencies, outcome-based objectives with a way of knowing they were met, a path of actions (mostly on-the-job practice), a review rhythm, and a re-measurement at the end.
How many goals should an IDP have?
Three is a good maximum per cycle. Plans with five to ten goals are rarely finished; a smaller plan that is completed is worth more and makes the next cycle more ambitious.
How often should an IDP be reviewed?
Brief check-ins every one to two weeks, a cycle close every 90, 180 or 365 days, and a revisit of the long-range goal at each cycle close.
Who owns an Individual Development Plan?
Best practice — and Jobulary’s design — is that the individual owns their plan and its history, even when an employer sponsors it. The organisation owns the aggregate workforce view.
Is an IDP the same as a performance review?
No. A performance review evaluates past results against expectations. An IDP is forward-looking and developmental; mixing the two tends to make people less honest in the plan.
What is a good example of an IDP objective?
“Two of my team leads each run a full branch week without escalating to me by the end of the quarter” — an observable outcome with a way of knowing. A weak version would be “attend delegation training”.
What is the 70/20/10 model in an IDP?
A guideline that development comes roughly 70% from challenging experiences at work, 20% from other people (feedback, mentoring, exposure), and 10% from formal learning. It is a proportion to aim for, not a precise law.