Building a Development Plan
Knowmium Workshop Tool
Development Plan Builder
Draft → Critique → Refine → Conversation · ~5 minutes
Step 1 of 4
Draft Your Development Plan
Fill in what you have — even rough notes are fine. This becomes the raw material for the AI critique in Step 2. The more specific you are, the sharper the feedback will be.
Privacy first. Do not include your direct report's full name, personal details, or confidential HR information. Use initials, a pseudonym, or a role title (e.g., "my senior analyst" or "J."). This content stays in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere.
Their role, key strengths, the growth opportunity, and any relevant performance context. No real names.
What specific skill or behavior do you want them to develop? Be as concrete as you can.
What have they already done or achieved? What evidence have you seen — positive or otherwise?
What will they actually do to develop? List 3–6 steps — mix of real work, feedback, and learning.
Name the people and what each will provide — not just "manager" or "HR".
What observable behavior change, stakeholder outcome, or feedback signal will tell you it's working?
When do you expect to see meaningful progress? When is the final review?
Design principle: 70-20-10
70% on-the-job practice & stretch
20% feedback, mentoring, peers
10% courses, reading, resources
The most common mistake
Most development plans are 90% formal training and 10% everything else — exactly backwards. Real growth happens in real work, with real feedback, in real time.
Step 2 of 4
Your AI Critique Prompt
Your draft has been merged into the full prompt below. Copy it and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or any AI tool. The AI will analyze your plan across 11 dimensions and rewrite it for you.
Click "Build Prompt" to generate your personalized prompt.
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What the AI will give you back
An executive summary of your plan's quality → a psychological safety score → three rewrites of your goal → a stronger set of action steps using 70-20-10 → a support map → behavior-based success measures → 30/60/90-day milestones → a conversation opening script → and a candid tough-love final check.
Before you paste
- I have removed or replaced my direct report's real name with initials or a pseudonym.
- I have removed any confidential HR, performance, or personal information.
- I have checked that the goal and action steps are specific enough for the AI to critique meaningfully.
- I am ready to receive candid feedback — including on what I may be avoiding.
Step 3 of 4
The 11 Lenses the AI Uses
The AI doesn't just check boxes — it analyzes your plan through 11 distinct lenses. Tap any card to understand what it's looking for and what it will produce.
1
Executive Summary
Output
What's strongest, what's weakest, the biggest risk if you use it as written, and the single change that would improve it most. Candid — not polite.
2
Psychological Safety Check
Risk lens
Flags language that may feel judgmental, deficit-based, or blaming. Checks whether the plan frames growth as learning rather than correction. Gives a safety score out of 10 and rewrites flagged language.
3
Goal Quality Critique
Output
Checks if the goal is specific, behavior-based, and connected to real impact. Rewrites it in three versions: simple, SMART, and growth-focused.
4
Current State & Progress
Strength lens
Checks whether your progress section recognizes effort, names observable evidence, and creates a balanced picture. Rewrites it to include one strength, one specific area, one piece of evidence, and one honest-but-encouraging statement.
5
Action Step Critique
Risk lens
Applies the 70-20-10 principle. Identifies steps that are too vague, too passive, or too dependent on you as manager. Rewrites 4–6 stronger actions with: what they do, what you do, when, and what evidence to look for.
6
Support Quality Critique
Output
Checks whether support is specific enough — named people, what they provide, how often. Rewrites as a support map: manager, peer/mentor, stakeholder, self-reflection, and optional resources.
7
Success Measure Critique
Risk lens
Flags weak measures ("attended training," "improved confidence"). Rewrites success measures at three levels: behavior evidence, impact evidence, and feedback evidence.
8
Timeline & Accountability
Output
Reviews pacing and milestones. Recommends specific 30-, 60-, and 90-day checkpoints with what to review at each one.
9
Conversation Framing
Strength lens
Writes a psychologically safe opening script for your development conversation. Provides 5 questions to ask, 3 phrases to avoid, and 3 better replacements.
10
Final Improved Plan
Output
A fully rewritten, polished development plan — clear, specific, human, and psychologically safe — ready to use or adapt.
11
Tough-Love Final Check
Risk lens
Candid closing critique: what still feels weak, what you may be avoiding, what could confuse your direct report, and whether the plan is ready to use or needs another revision.
Why 11 lenses?
Most managers review a development plan once — for completeness. This framework reviews it for psychological safety, goal quality, action design, support structure, success measurement, and conversation readiness. That's the difference between a plan that gets filed and a plan that actually changes someone's trajectory.
Step 4 of 4
Preparing the Conversation
The best development plan in the world fails if the conversation that introduces it creates defensiveness. Use this as your pre-conversation checklist and reference.
A psychologically safe opening
"I want to talk about something I think is genuinely exciting — your growth. I've been thinking about where you're headed and what would make the biggest difference for you, and I'd love to build something together that actually helps. Before I share what I've been thinking, I want to hear from you first: where do you feel you're growing, and where do you feel stuck?"
"This isn't a performance conversation — it's a development conversation. The difference matters to me. I'm not here to tell you what's wrong. I'm here to think with you about what's next."
5 questions to ask
- "What part of your work right now feels most stretching — in a good way?"
- "If you could get significantly better at one thing in the next six months, what would have the biggest impact on your work?"
- "What kind of support actually helps you grow — and what tends to get in the way?"
- "When you imagine yourself a year from now, what does success look like — and what would you need to get there?"
- "Is there anything about this development goal that feels unclear, unfair, or like it's missing something important?"
Language that makes or breaks it
Avoid saying
"You need to work on your communication."
Say instead
"I want to help you get even better at landing your ideas with senior stakeholders."
Avoid saying
"This is an area of concern."
Say instead
"This is an area where I think you have real upside — and I want to invest in it."
Avoid saying
"I've put together a plan for you."
Say instead
"I've drafted some ideas — but I want this to be your plan. Let's shape it together."
Before you have the conversation
- I have run the plan through the AI critique and reviewed the feedback.
- I can name at least two genuine strengths I will open with.
- I have a specific, behavior-based goal — not a vague trait like "be more confident."
- I am prepared to listen first and let them shape the plan — not just present it.
- I have blocked time for a 30-day check-in so this doesn't disappear into a drawer.
- I can honestly say this plan is about their growth — not just solving a problem I have.
The real test
After the conversation, ask yourself: did they leave feeling more capable and more motivated — or more anxious and more watched? The answer tells you everything about whether the plan will work.