Individual Development Plan

Our HR department has a paperwork-inducing pile-o fun they call the talent pipeline. (Makes me always for some reason think of drain-o or that scene in Willy Wonka where Augustus gets sucked up the chocolate river.)

As part of it every year we have to sit down and write our Individual Development Plan and as part of the review cycle our managers review these plans and how well we "execute them." Phew, did I get the verbiage correct on that?

So as part of my new leaf of trying to tackle why I'm so disillusioned I pulled out this year's plan just to refresh myself of my goals that were assigned to me. My written goals apparently weren't lofty enough for the plan so my manager decided to enhance it a bit. (Which I think I mentioned a few months ago in this blog.)

It seemed like one of the easiest things to check off the list would be to attend the leadership training that my then current manager wanted me to attend. So I looked into it today.

It's one week of leadership fun for the low low price of ....gulp...$1750. For an internal seminar. That's each person. There's no hotel involved. Just a meeting room, probably a manual and a certificate suitable for framing.

I received a list of dates to attend. The week of Sept 7th (which is already jam packed with meetings) The week of Sept 25 (I probably will be either in Las Vegas or Walt Disney World depending on where they finally decide to hold our scientific advisory board meeting) or the week of Halloween - which is appropriate because the thought of me sitting through a week of leadership training for $1750 is a tad scary. For that amount of money I could take six computer classes that I'm sure would probably help me more than leadership training.

Alas, I only was trying to just check something off my IDP. Really the only other thing that I might remotely succeed at completing is that I'm required to go to lunch with collegues from other divisions to pick their brain (um "share best practices") Don't mind doing that at all...and thanks to the little greasy spoon diner in the skyway - it will only cost me $8.95.

Of course I checked my e-mail tonight and was told that he'll "have to get back with me" about attending this class. Which typically means he's having second thoughts about spending the money. Fine by me. I was only trying to be a bit proactive for a change. (Isn't that a sign of a good leader anyhow?)