How to Lead a Consultative Individual Development Plan Process as a Manager

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is one of the most important leadership tools supporting people development and the achievement of business goals - especially when it goes beyond a formal document and becomes a shared process between the manager and the employee.

Regardless of which IDP template you use in HCM Deck, it delivers the greatest value when it is a shared responsibility and is rooted in the real context of day-to-day work.

This article will help you plan and lead the IDP process in a consultative way - aligned with team goals and sustainable in everyday leadership practice.

IDP is a process, not just a document

In some organizations, IDPs are sometimes perceived as:

• a list of training courses to complete,
• a formal HR requirement,
• a one-off outcome of a development conversation.

From a manager’s perspective, however, an IDP can serve as:

• a tool for prioritizing development areas with the greatest impact on team results,
• a reference point for one-on-one conversations,
• a bridge between business goals, expected outcomes, and the employee’s competency development.
  
   

That is why it is worth thinking about IDP as a living process that evolves along with changing team needs, the employee’s role, and the business context.

The manager’s role in the IDP process - a co-owner, not just an approver

An effective IDP is created through collaboration between the manager and the employee and reflects the realities of the team’s work.

Your role as a manager is to co-create the development plan. In practice, this means:

• bringing business context into the conversation (team goals, challenges, priorities),
• supporting the selection of relevant development areas,
• helping the employee systematically invest time in agreed actions, monitor progress, and stay motivated.
  
   

At the same time, the IDP should not be a document created solely by the manager.
The employee remains the owner of their development. Your role is to provide direction, support, and structure - not to take over responsibility.

Starting point - from team goals to development priorities

Before moving into specific development actions, it is worth stepping back and looking at the broader context.

A strong IDP starts with answering the following questions:

• Which business goals are currently most important for the team?
• What competencies, behaviors, or ways of working will be needed to achieve them?
• Where can employee development realistically strengthen team performance - now or in the near future?
  
   

This approach helps avoid two common pitfalls:

• development plans disconnected from operational reality,
• too many development goals that cannot be sustained over time.

In practice, it is better to focus on 1-3 priority areas that matter both to the employee and to the team.

A consultative IDP process - what it looks like in practice

Regardless of the template you use, the IDP process can follow the same logic.

1. Shared understanding of the situation

Start the conversation by discussing:

• the employee’s current role,
• the challenges they face,
• business expectations related to the role.

This is a good moment to exchange perspectives and clarify the context that will guide further decisions.

2. Setting development priorities

At this stage, it is helpful to jointly review:

• key development areas,
• their importance and relative priority,
• realistic possibilities for addressing them in daily work.

3. Selecting development actions

Only then does the question arise: how should these areas be developed in practice?

This is where the 70-20-10 model becomes useful, as it encourages thinking beyond training alone.

The model helps translate development priorities into concrete actions that can be planned and embedded in the real work context.

4. Defining the manager’s role

Finally, it is worth clearly agreeing on:

• how you will support the employee,
• how often you will return to the IDP,
• how progress in goals and development actions will be assessed.
  
   

The 70-20-10 model from a manager’s perspective - where the real value lies

The 70-20-10 model highlights that the greatest impact on development comes from:

• 70% - experience in day-to-day work,
• 20% - learning from others,
• 10% - formal education.

From a manager’s perspective, it is important to note that:

• the 70 and 20 elements usually do not require a dedicated training budget,
• they have a direct impact on effectiveness in daily work,
• they do require intentional work design and active support.

Your role includes, for example:

• creating space for new tasks, projects, and responsibilities,
• enabling feedback, mentoring, and collaboration with others,
• treating training as support rather than the primary driver of development.

This approach helps IDPs translate more quickly into real changes in ways of working and team results.

How to keep IDP a consistent part of a manager’s work

One of the biggest challenges is not creating an IDP, but maintaining it.

What helps sustain IDP work over time:

• treating the IDP as a regular reference point in one-on-one conversations,
• replacing rare, extensive reviews with short, regular progress check-ins,
• updating the plan when priorities or work context change.

An IDP does not need to be perfect or complete from the start.
What matters most is that it stays relevant and actively used.

IDP as real support in the manager’s role

A well-run IDP process gives managers:

• greater predictability in achieving team goals,
• better alignment between employee development and real business needs,
• greater effectiveness in leading teams and making development decisions.
  
   

The platform supports this process by organizing information and enabling continuity of actions. Regular conversations and decisions made while working with the IDP help translate development plans into real, everyday actions.

An Individual Development Plan can be more than a summary of agreements after a development conversation. In practice, it becomes a tool that helps structure priorities, support consistent conversations with employees, and connect people development with what truly matters for the team and the business.

Regardless of the template used, what matters is not the format itself, but how the plan is used. Clear context, a limited number of priorities, and actions that fit daily work ensure that the IDP remains useful long after the development conversation ends.

Regularly returning to agreed actions - during one-on-ones or when priorities change - allows the IDP to serve as a reference point rather than a closed document. As a result, the development plan supports both employee growth and the achievement of team goals over time.