How to co-create an Individual Development Plan from an employee’s perspective

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is meant to serve as a reference point for conversations, decisions, and next development steps. When used well, it helps structure development at work and translate plans into concrete, everyday actions.

Its real value comes from how it is used in practice and how closely it relates to your actual work, challenges, and goals.

This article will help you better prepare for the IDP process and consciously take part in conversations about your development.

IDP as part of everyday work, not a one-off task

An Individual Development Plan works best when it is treated as more than a one-time document and becomes a point of reference for ongoing development.

In practice, it can help you:

• clarify your development direction,
• prepare for conversations with your manager,
• connect development with what you actually do on a daily basis.

It is worth seeing the IDP as a process that can evolve along with your role, responsibilities, and team priorities.

Your perspective in the IDP process

When creating an IDP, it is important to consider both your development needs and the goals and realities of your team’s work. This way, your experiences, observations, and needs become a meaningful reference point in planning development.

Your role in this process includes:

• naming areas that feel challenging or offer development opportunities,
• sharing what works well in your day-to-day work and what makes task delivery harder,
• signalling which forms of development feel realistic and helpful for you.

Your manager brings the perspective of team goals and business priorities, while you contribute insight into your work and development needs. Combining these perspectives gives the IDP practical meaning and value.

From daily tasks to development priorities

Before planning specific development activities, it is helpful to look at the broader context of your work.

Questions that may support this reflection include:

• What currently takes up most of my attention or energy at work?
• Which skills or ways of working are especially important in my role right now?
• What should I focus on first to improve my effectiveness in my current role?

This perspective helps you choose development areas that matter here and now, rather than creating long lists of goals that are difficult to sustain. Often, 1–3 priorities are enough to make development visible and manageable.

What does co-creating an IDP look like in practice?

Regardless of the template you use, the IDP process usually follows a similar logic.

1. Understanding the current situation

The conversation typically starts with discussing:

• expectations related to your current role,
• challenges you face in your day-to-day work and responsibilities.

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

2. Setting development priorities

The next step is to agree on:

• areas worth developing,
• their importance and order of priority,
• realistic ways of working on them within everyday conditions.

3. Selecting development actions

Only after priorities are set does it make sense to plan concrete actions.

The 70–20–10 model can be a helpful framework here, as it organises different ways of learning and development without limiting them to training alone (which, as a standalone approach, rarely leads to lasting skill improvement).

4. Agreeing on how to work with the plan

At the end, it is worth agreeing on:

• what support you can expect from your manager,
• when and how you will revisit the plan,
• how progress will be observed and reflected on.

The 70–20–10 model as a development mindset

The 70–20–10 model helps you look at development from a broader perspective:

• learning through work experiences,
• learning from others,
• formal education.

This does not mean that every element can always be fully implemented in everyday work. However, the model helps structure thinking about development and shows that combining different learning forms increases the chances of real improvement.

Training alone rarely leads to lasting change if it is not supported by practical application, collaboration with others, and feedback. Thanks to this approach, development activities can be more easily linked to real tasks and work situations.

How to return to the IDP in everyday work

The value of an IDP lies in coming back to it regularly and monitoring progress.

In practice, this may include:

• referring to the IDP during conversations with your manager,
• short check-ins to reflect on observations and conclusions,
• updating the plan when tasks or priorities change.

An IDP does not need to be perfect from the start. It gains value when it stays current and is actually used.

IDP as support for your development

An Individual Development Plan can help you:

• clarify your development direction,
• prepare for development conversations and decisions about next steps and expectations,
• consciously plan further development actions.

Regardless of the template you use, what matters most is how you work with the plan – through conversation, realistic actions, and regular follow-up. This is what keeps the IDP a useful tool that supports development in everyday work, rather than a document left unused.