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It’s no secret that an organization is powered by its employees. Every strategy, objective and deal relies on the commitment and performance of individuals to succeed. While leaders devote significant time to these areas of success, few protect time to check in with their team members and visualize the individual skills, efforts and goals that empower their work. Recognizing and supporting your team’s individual growth visually unlocks the ability to communicate meaningful progress and celebrate the people who make your work possible.

How can I visualize my team members’ growth?

At Throughline, we developed the Individual Development Plan (IDP) to visualize focus areas, verbalize priorities and goals and create a traceable document to reference progress in the future. According to LinkedIn’s 2022 Workplace Learning Report, employees are ten times more likely to leave their position if they feel their skills are not being put to good use. Over half of Workplace Learning and Development professionals also recognize that internal mobility and growth are higher priorities since COVID-19. Our IDP captures goals and progress related to skills and experience in a way that bridges the gap between employees and managers, resulting in a supportive growth environment. The IDP is also a living product hosted on a virtual white board space, inviting continuous reflection and evolution as an individual grows in their career. Click on the image above to access the full template.

The IDP board invites employees to think about their work in three distinct ways:

1. Reflection: Individuals review the performance evaluation criteria according to their level and rate their comfort in each of the criteria areas. They are also encouraged to consider any feedback received from team members, management and clients in the past to inform their self-assessment.
2. Goal Setting: The tree diagram allows individuals to lay out goals in six specific areas, ranging from building professional skills to contributing to the work community to achieving personal goals. As time passes, the tree grows and becomes more complex as goals are added, expanded upon and diversified. This approach allows each person to set goals at the speed best suited to them. Additionally, the tree prompts the owner for a sentence of intent to identify the impact they hope to have by achieving their goal—a constant reminder to help keep goals focused and meaningful.
3. Goal Tracking: As the goals are filled in, individuals also provide specific actions they identify as being critical to accomplishing their objective. Timeframes and milestones further outline the path they are committed to take in order to achieve their goals at work.

At times, business strategies and enterprise operations can obscure the very thing that powers their success: team members’ individual growth and accomplishments. The Individual Development Plan empowers your team to reflect on their own success, goals and milestones in a way that invites creativity. The IDP also creates a valuable product for managers and mentors to discuss with their team members, ensuring that each individual’s skills and aspirations are closely aligned to their daily work. By harnessing the personal commitment identified in the IDP, leaders can unlock the true potential of their team by aligning individual and team goals, supporting the growth of each person as well as the whole.

If you're interested in creating the ideal growth and success visualization for your team members, reach out! We're always excited to help others grow.

Amanda Sadler, Principal Content Strategist

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