The Five Stages of Development Success: Stage Three

Authored by Bob Eichinger, Roger Pearman, and Garrick Throckmorton

There is a proven, evidence-based process for career development that emphasizes five stages you must navigate throughout your career. Embarking on a 20- to 30-year career journey requires several trips through the Five Stages of Development.

There are at least five cycles and the development stages are relevant to each:

1.??? From student to intern.

2.??? From intern to one or more individual contributor jobs.

3.??? From individual contributor to team lead, supervisor or manager.

4.??? From manager to first-level executive (e.g. Director).

5.??? From first-level leader to a senior executive job.

The requirements at each stage are unique. There are variations leading to success within each, and there will be required adjustments for growth and development along the way--adding, editing, and subtracting elements of expressions of self.

You could navigate the whole trip alone. However, you will likely benefit more from good Bosses, HR and Talent Management (TM) Professionals, Coaches, Mentors, Orienteers, Guides, and Sponsors. It takes a village to do a good job.

How many times an individual “recycles” will depend upon career goals and aspirations. If you love what you are doing, the organization needs what you are doing, and it provides work fulfillment, you may only need to go through the development cycle once or twice.

The Five Stages of Successful Development

Stage One: Enlightenment - Read more

Stage Two:?The Vision - Read more

Stage Three: The Path

Stage Four: Closing the Gap

Stage Five:? Confirmation

As you focus on your career aspirations, there will be repeated cycles.

Think about the process as five rooms in a circular house, with doors between the rooms. You must enter each room and complete a Stage before entering the next room.

Stage Three – The Path; Plan the Work and Working the Plan

• The goal is to create a growth and development plan that, if executed, will lead to the desired outcome – where adjustments and enhancements are realized
• Tools include the assignments, experts and supporters in the organization’s village, plus AI-assisted learning
• The Individual Development Plan (IDP) content will depend upon the career destination

The composition of your IDP needs to vary based on your career goal. If you have your eyes set on the “top of the house” versus maximizing the value you provide in your current position/level, you will need to put more focus on some “remedies” over others. While the “remedies” remain the same (assignments, network, self-study) the weights vary (see below). Additionally, how one prioritizes the need for Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes varies in the same manner. The chart below provides direction for where and how to focus your IDP based on your career goal.

• The good news is that all requirements can be addressed
• The bad news is that not everyone wants to address these
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) underpinned by Authentic Intelligence makes accurate and customized IDPs available to everyone at the speed of need, and at a reasonable cost. It’s an equitable solution.

FULL STOP – You have to “buy in” that the plan, if executed, will lead to what you want out of your career, and is necessary to be successful. You can add authoritative resources, present use cases, and arrange interviews with people who have successfully executed a similar plan until the buy-in is complete. Ultimately, working your plan in isolation is less effective than bringing in exemplars, mentors, and coaches.

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