Professional Development Planning
GAPS Grid and Development FIRST Learning Plan
Career Development Discussions:
Career discussions are different than performance reviews. It is a time for you
and your manager to discuss your career goals and the company’s long-term
goals. Use the GAPS Grid to guide the conversation and determine where your
personal goals align with your manager — these are the areas you are likely to
find the most energy and support to carry out your career plan.
Begin with Personal Insight — Know Yourself
• What 2-3 things are most important for you to improve?
• What feedback do you regularly get from your manager and others?
• Remember: People succeed on the basis of their strengths, as long as
their weaknesses don’t get in the way.
GAPS Grid:
You can use the GAPS Grid to identify skills and
competencies you want to develop. You can also
use it as a career conversation guide with your
manager. Based on your discussions, you want to
identify key skills and competencies to develop
over time. Your next step would be to create a
development FIRST plan to review with your
manager.
GOALS: What do you want to do?
• What is important in your work and life? Why?
• What do you want to do that you are not doing?
ABILITIES: What can you do?
• Where have you been successful? Not successful? Why?
• What are the ways in which you successfully apply your knowledge and
skills?
PERCEPTIONS: How does your manager see you?
• I’d like to ask for your feedback. How do you see my current skills and
competencies?
• What would make me even better?
• As a member of your team, how do you see me overall? (Vague answer?
Ask for examples.)
• Thank them for sharing their feedback. Now share how these perceptions
fit with how you see yourself?
SUCCESS FACTORS: What does your manager expect from you?
• What are the criteria that will make me successful in this job? (Vague
answer? Ask what they mean.)
• What are the skills and competencies you want me to work on to be
successful in the future?
Copyright. Unpublished materials by www.danameyerconsulting.com.
Manager’s Views
Your View
Sample GAPS Grid – Here is an example of a completed GAPS grid modeled
after PDI’s Development FIRST workbook. Note that the person identified
additional questions to answer as he or she goes through the development
process.
What Is
What Matters
Abilities
What you can do?
Goals and Values
What you want to do?
What I already know:
 Good problem solver and writer
 Very strong project management
skills (planning and coordination)
 Need to be better at building teams
(especially informal teams) and
working across boundaries
 I'm not that great at networking
What I already know:
 Continue to find new roles
where I can make meaningful
contributions
 Keep learning and facing new
challenges
 Be respected and appreciated
for my contributions
Issues I still need to address:
 My strategic thinking and group
leadership skills have not really
been tested
 I haven't done much public speaking
Questions I still need to answer:
 Would I like more
management responsibility?
 What is the right balance for
me between work and family
life?
Perceptions
How does your manager see you?
Success Factors
What does your manager
expect of you?
What I already know:
 People tell me I'm thorough, detailoriented, and have great followthrough
 I work well independently, am
easygoing, and am a good team
player in groups.
 My boss keeps saying, "Take more
of a leadership stand, voice your
opinions, and be more proactive in
trying to influence the group."
Questions I still need to answer:
 What do people think about how I
delegate and communicate?
 What does senior management
think of me?
What I already know:
 Both quality and quantity of
work are critical.
 Demonstrate initiative.
 Getting buy-in from others and
building momentum seems
essential.
Questions I still need to answer:
 How important is it to have
cross-functional experience?
 What skills will be most
important in the next few
years? What does
management think we need
most?
Copyright. Unpublished materials by www.danameyerconsulting.com.
Your GAPS grid
What Is
What Matters
Abilities
What you can do?
Goals and Values
What you want to do?
Your View
Short – Term
Long – Term
Perceptions
How does your manager see you?
Success Factors
What does your manager expect
of you?
Manager’s Views
Short – Term
Things I Want to Change:
Long – Term
Copyright. Unpublished materials by www.danameyerconsulting.com.
Development FIRST Plan
Development planning is useless without action. Even five targeted minutes a
day can make a big difference.
Example: To loose weight small daily actions will give you better results than
trying to do it all at once.
1. FOCUS on critical priorities
• What is my development priority?
• What skill or behavior do I want to develop?
2. IMPLEMENT something every day
• What new behavior will I try?
• Where will I push my comfort zone?
3. REFLECT on what you've learned each day
• What worked? What didn't work?
• What I want to do differently next time?
4. SEEK feedback and support
• How will I track my progress and get feedback?
• What else supports my learning (e.g., mentors, books, training, online
videos, support, etc.)?
5. TRANSFER learning into next steps
• How will I evaluate my progress?
• When will I evaluate what I need to work on next?
Copyright. Unpublished materials by www.danameyerconsulting.com.
Development FIRST - Personal Learning Plan
Name: _____________________________ Date:________________________
1. FOCUS on critical priorities
What is my development priority?
What do I want to work on? What skill or behavior do I want to develop or
leverage?
Criteria for success
A brief description of the skill above when performed adequately.
2. IMPLEMENT something every day
Every time I see the following
situation(s)…
…I will take the following
development action:
What situations, people, or events
signal that right now is the time to put
new behaviors into action?
What new behavior will I try?
Where will I push my comfort zone?
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
Other actions to take
Whom to involve
Due date
Copyright. Unpublished materials by www.danameyerconsulting.com.
3. REFLECT on what you've learned
Daily reflection: What will I
do each day to consider:
 What worked?
 What didn't work?
 What I want to do
differently next time?
4. SEEK feedback and support
Feedback and
information:
 How will I track my
progress and get input
from others?
 Whom will I ask for
feedback?
 When?
Support, resources, and opportunities: What else
do I need to support my learning (e.g., mentors,
advocates, books, training, support, etc.)?
Due date:
5. TRANSFER learning into next steps
Periodic view
 How will I take stock at
major milestones to
evaluate my progress
relative to my goals and
organizational priorities?
 When and how will I
evaluate what I need to
work on next?
Copyright. Unpublished materials by www.danameyerconsulting.com.