Leading Petty Officer Leadership Course Topic 3 2012

Front 1

purpose of an Individual Development Plan

Back 1

Development is the process of enhancing your personal and professional skills and
experience in a way that increases your value to the organization. Sailor development is
achieved through one or more of the following: academic and professional development,
work assignments (short- and long-term), and various forms of self-study.

Front 2

Individual Development Plan (IDP)

Back 2

An IDP is a document used to track one's progress toward career, professional, and personal
growth. It is a tool for recording development goals, plans for taking advantage of
developmental opportunities, and the outcomes of investing in those activities

Front 3

Benefits of an IDP

Back 3

Creating a development plan serves as a commitment to work toward specific goals, a
mechanism to communicate goals, and a means to monitor progress in achieving them. Your
goals will be more focused, your training and development opportunities more aligned, and
your partnership with your manager enhanced.

Front 4

Responsibility for Creating an IDP

Back 4

You are responsible for your career and for identifying your professional development goals
and opportunities, seeking guidance and advice in your planning, and retaining a copy of
your IDP to track your progress.

Front 5

Mentoring

Back 5

A mentor is a person who cares about people and goes out of the way to see subordinates get
the best possible chance to fulfill career potential. A protégé is a subordinate who is being
groomed for advancement by being provided opportunities to excel beyond the limits of his
or her current position. Mentoring is a process where the mentor and the protégé work
together to discover and develop the protégé’s abilities. Mentoring is an integral aspect of
leadership. Mentors are helpers whose styles range from the persistent encourager who helps
build self-confidence, to the stern taskmaster who teaches protégés to appreciate excellence
in performance.

Front 6

Benefits

Back 6

Mentoring will change from person to person and relationship to relationship, but most
individuals will receive better career guidance and be positively affected by the mentor’s
role model influence. Mentors characteristically help the protégé envision worthy goals
and move toward their fulfillment as part of the growth and development process. There
are several types of assistance that are particularly helpful in encouraging the protégé’s
growth:
• Shift mental context by assisting the protégé to create a satisfying new context for
his/her life or work and a personal vision of healthy change
• Listen to the protégé’s concerns by respectfully listening, treating the discussion
as confidential, and helping the protégé gain insight into the concern
• Confront negative intentions or behaviors in a timely fashion to keep these from
blocking personal growth
• Provide appropriate guidance as needed