Traditional career development planning re-enforces the status quo. Instead we need ways to be more human and unique!

Traditional career development planning

usually looks something like the following:

  1. complete background information
  2. set your development goals
  3. write your action steps
  4. list obstacles and solutions
  5. identify your resources

If you’re lucky step 1 includes some sort of self assessment that encourages you to follow your interests and leverage your strengths. Usually step 1 also asks you to address ways to deal with your weaknesses because certainly you need to be fixed.

Why traditional career development planning is obsolete

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This type of process is obsolete for several reasons:

  1. The focus is to get you to fit into known career paths.
  2. The process is left brain oriented.
  3. It doesn’t guide people toward atypical or soul-nourishing opportunities.
  4. Most processes heavily favor the corporate advantage.
  5. Most managers and employees have no time to actually do career development planning.

Lest I throw the baby out with the bath water, there are some positives about the way career development planning has been done: it’s a great way to imagine the details of what a particular career path might look like and get guidance on that path.

Traditional approaches are limited

But the limitations of traditional career development are extreme, especially in these times when staying with in the confines of ‘the way things have been done’ does little to move individuals and organizations toward new and innovative ways of working.

Career development planning is designed to guide you to fit in, think logically, stay within the bounds of what is known without helping you be more authentic, human, or extraordinary.

It follows logical, linear paths that could never anticipate the myriad permutations and combinations possible if we allowed our hearts to guide our career journeys.

It typically gives lip service to equal ownership in the process, instead falling back to the paternal role of management taking care of your career opportunities like promotions and raises.

Employees get lulled into thinking someone is ‘watching out for them’ and often get blind sided by a layoff or unforeseen change, when instead they need to be taking charge of and driving their career development planning process.

We need approaches that foster being human and unique

We need to help both individuals and organizations be more remarkable and human, to be leaders internally in the business and externally in the market, by accomplishing the following goals:

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  • Know how to be your authentic, unique, unapologetic best
  • Handle the stress of increased demands caused by constant change
  • Learn how to be entrepreneurial and resourceful
  • Follow your passions and do what your heart wants
  • Use your imagination and dreams to discover possibilities beyond the status quo

Seth Godin beautifully summarizes these goals in his book Lynchpin, where he poses that traditional organizations reward mediocre, obedient bureaucrats when instead they should encourage artists, develop leaders and learn to solve interesting problems – in order to be remarkable in the marketplace.

Career development planning can be different

You might think that the goals I’ve proposed here for career development planning are beyond the reach of most individuals and organizations.

Think again! They are far more easily attained then you might realize! I know because I’ve worked with thousands of people to accomplish these goals, and have developed a holistic approach to leadership and career development planning that brings out the above and more using the IAM Compass and the Leadership and Career Essentials online learning offering.

Want to know more? Take the IAM True Self Alignment Assessment.

As you think about your own True Self aligned career path, or the career support offered by your organization, imagine what it might be like to have encouragement and guidance in being your real, authentic, passionate, whole human self …

What might be possible? How would your life be different? How could you improve the lives of others? We’d love to see your thoughts below …

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