Even though you and your boss might agree that you have the potential to become a manager, the company simply is not able to provide training or opportunities for experience right now. You are not ready to change jobs but you do want to start moving ahead. Here are guidelines for how to develop a career plan to accomplish that goal.
It is not just the responsibility of Human Resources or your current manager to offer training courses and job opportunities to help you move ahead in your career. You are perfectly capable of writing and implementing your own management development plan.
Here are some guidelines to help you get started with the planning.
Set a Goal for Development as a Professional Manager
For this plan to be effective, there must be a career goal that is very clear and to which you are committed. Take time to develop that goal so that it is clear, achievable and realistic for you in your current life position.
Where do you see yourself five years from now? Close your eyes and visualize yourself in a work situation. For example, you might see yourself sitting in a corner office of a manufacturing firm, dressed in a smart suit, personal assistant at a desk outside the door, and the nearby workstations of the 12 professional designing staff who report to you. Or, you might visualize yourself in denims and hard hat, visiting a large construction site where you are the project manager.
Information Needed to Develop Your Professional Goal Plan
In order to develop a realistic goal plan to become a professional manager, you will need certain information about the knowledge and skills that are necessary for the job.
- Management functions. You will definitely need knowledge of the basic principles of management functions and how to implement them. These are applicable to any management job, no matter where you are employed.
- Technical knowledge. You will probably need a certain level of technical knowledge to be placed in your ideal manager position.
- Professional skills. Identify what skills, technical or otherwise, that are necessary to do your ideal management job. Check out whether or not certification is required for that position.
Sources of Information for Your Professional Goal Plan
Do not make assumptions about the management and technical knowledge and skills necessary to attain your goal as a professional manager. Following are some suggestions for accessible sources of information.
- HR department of current employer. Even though they might not be able to support you in offering training right now, there is probably an HR person in your current company who is willing to provide you with a listing of qualifications necessary to attain your desired position.
- Other companies. You can always check out the job postings from other companies that employ people in the kind of management position you would like to have in five years. Or, simply e-mail or phone their HR department to ask for information.
- Professional management associations. Check out the websites for professional associations for management generally or for specific professions. The American Management Association, Canadian Management Centre, and the International Professional Managers Association in the UK are just a few examples.
Write Your Professional Development Plan
Now, you have a goal and some detail around what knowledge, skills, and experience are needed to achieve the position of professional manager. This is the information that will determine the steps of your 3-5 year professional development plan. Here are the key questions that should be addressed by the steps in this plan.
- What knowledge do you need to acquire for the desired position? Look at the information you research. Assess what you already have. Identify what the gaps are that need to be addressed in a plan. For example, you are not sure about basic management functions. You can take care of this with a basic management evening course at the local college over the next year.
- What skills do you need to acquire? For example, you might decide you need to improve your skill in reading design drawings. You think you can do this with 10-12 hours coaching from a designer.
- What experience is preferred for this position? You will want to decide if you can acquire this experience as part of your current job, if you need to change jobs, or if, perhaps, you can do volunteer work that would be counted as professional experience.
When you are confident that you have identified what you have to do to prepare yourself for your ideal manager job, you can write the actual 3-5 year plan, including the following elements.
- Actual tasks that have to be done: e.g. certification, language training.
- Process to achieve tasks: e.g. college course, volunteer work, tutoring, reading.
- Timeline to achieve each task: including annual progress goals.
- Resources need to achieve goal;: e.g. money for tuition or materials, professional coach.
Take Personal Responsibility for Your Professional Development Plan
It is essential that the professional development plan is realistic and achievable. Otherwise, you will become discouraged as you work your way through it. If possible, share the plan with someone who is willing to meet with you occasionally when you need an encourager, sounding board or friendly advisor.
An added bonus to writing and implementing your own professional development plan is that you will be more than ready to move ahead if there is an opening with your current employer, or something leading toward your ideal position with another employer. This kind of initiative and commitment does not go unnoticed.
Constance Woloschuk - 30 years experience in management and organizational development; extensive volunteer work with faith-based organizations.
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