Development Plans Are Dumb

What It Covers

Manager Tools explains why traditional development plans fail in practice despite sounding logical in theory, and advocates for short-term developmental delegations through one-on-ones and frequent feedback instead of long-term planning documents.

Key Questions Answered

• •Development Plan Failure Rate: Organizations cannot produce data showing development plans work effectively. Out of millions of managers globally, fewer than 100 have likely completed a full development plan that successfully developed a direct report to promotion.
• •Manager Time Burden: Creating and maintaining development plans becomes a full-time job when managing 15 people. Plans require constant updates as business strategies, technologies, and priorities shift, making multi-year or even year-long plans obsolete before completion.
• •Weekly Delegation Method: Assign one to two developmental tasks per quarter maximum. Monitor progress through weekly one-on-ones, provide daily feedback on new responsibilities, and only add another delegation when the direct handles current tasks efficiently, not perfectly.
• •HR Span of Control Problem: HR business partners cannot effectively review hundreds of development plans across their organizational area. They lack detailed knowledge of each person's specialty, career path, and role requirements to provide meaningful input or oversight.