Prepare for Action

Development Activities

A development activity is something you do to acquire knowledge, skill or ability. This sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?

But, it can be difficult for some people to transfer competency ratings into concrete development plans. If you are having difficulty, you might take a few moments to consider how you will structure your development efforts.

Make sure that you have only a manageable number of priorities to work on. For example, if your top priority is a whole competency area, a manageable number for you might be only one or two. If your top priorities are behaviors, then three or four may be workable. If you list every priority area you identified earlier, you might find it difficult to schedule or afford a development plan. Behavioral change takes time and setting too many goals can sabotage your efforts.

To ensure that the leadership development plan you eventually develop and submit for approval to your supervisor is sound, we suggest that you organize your planning efforts as follows:

With these guidelines in mind, the sample developmental activities below may help you see how you could organize your efforts to learn more about a competency area.

Examples of development activities

Priority Activity
Technology Management
  1. Take on-line course
  2. Read technology management book
  3. Meet with supervisor re: department's technology goals