How to Craft a Professional Development Plan Heather Roberts Sr. Faculty Research Assistant I Forest Ecosystems and Society

Why create a Professional Development Plan? CoF Expectation/Requirement Expectation from Dean Maness that all faculty should have professional development plans Required to be eligible to apply for funds from the CoF RSF Professional Development Fund Roadmap for success Surface and capture ideas Position yourself for success

Purpose of Professional Development Plans Surface and capture ideas Capture all of your thoughts –Increase conscious awareness of your goals, skills, interests and the research landscape by writing them down Prioritize goals, projects and action steps Be realistic Have a place to track your progress

Purpose of Professional Development Plans Position yourself for success Understand how your career goals relate to broader research goals in your field Identify and fill gaps in skills and relationships Tailor your position to take advantage of your strengths Increase your awareness of opportunities as they arise Increase your probability of being selected for opportunities by having the necessary qualifications

Goal of this Presentation Offer a sample template for plan structure Present a process for working through the professional development cycle Give some troubleshooting tips for what to do if you get stuck during the process of creating your plan Present some example content from actual PD plans

Sample PD Plan Template Overview paragraph List of career goals List of projects related to one or more goals –Project description –List of related goals –Time estimate –List of potential professional development opportunities (concrete action steps) Professional Development Plan Template

Sample PD Plan Template Possible action steps Attend a workshop Present at a conference (oral or poster) Write a manuscript (assist or first-author) Join (or form/lead) a committee Join (or form/lead) a collaborative learning group (e.g. SDMG*) Take a course (on campus or online) Self-study to learn a topic at your own pace Mentor or be mentored Meet with people to discuss ideas and form partnerships Attend seminars and social events at work to create new relationships and deepen existing relationships * SDMG: Spatial Data Management Group

The Professional Development Cycle

Adaptive Management Approach Initial plan development –Complete assessment of skills, relationships, landscape and (optionally) interests and career history –List career goals –Identify gaps in skills and relationships and plan to fill gaps –Prioritize goals and action steps –Get feedback and revise (anytime needed during the process) Implement action steps and track progress Review outcomes, reflect and revise as needed

If you know where you want to go, start at the end and backtrack Identify desired results Identify gaps in skills and relationships List potential learning and networking activities Prioritize activities and select next action steps

If you aren’t clear on your desired goals or skills, plan to figure it out as you go Identify possible goals and/or skills to develop Select a goal to work towards or a skill to develop Assess outcomes and decide whether to keep going or change direction Complete an action step to reach goal or acquire skill

Process for creating a PD plan Do I know what I want to do? List career goals Identify gaps in skills and relationships Plan to fill gaps Assess skills, interests and landscape Prioritize Get feedback and revise Yes No

Mind Map for Crafting a Professional Development Plan Link to mind map pdf

Professional Development Cycle Troubleshooting tips (non-linear processing) (Re)assess skills, relationships, landscape and/or interests Take a break – let thoughts incubate and percolate up Experiment with different methods for capturing and organizing your thoughts (e.g. mind mapping) Get help –Discuss your draft plan with your supervisor –Work together with a colleague or small group to refine plans

Additional Questions to Consider What activities serve more than one goal? What service activities can I participate in that will contribute to my professional development?

Examples

Example 1 Career goal: Characterize uncertainty and improve accuracy of complex regional forest vegetation patterns by incorporating new methodologies and data Project: Integration of finer scale data within vegetation mapping (lidar, phodar) Professional development opportunities: Attend training or self-study for lidar and phodar processing pipelines Attend training for Google Earth Engine

Example 2 Career goal: Help build a supportive, inclusive learning community that connects people to ideas and resources Project: Condense and share information on universal topics (health, productivity, habits, etc.) and processes Professional development opportunities: Read articles and books with techniques for presenting complex information succinctly Attend training on creating effective graphics Design and deliver workshops on specific topics (e.g. professional development)

Summary Apply adaptive management approach to professional development planning Overview of the professional development cycle –Create initial plan (complete assessments, list goals and action steps, prioritize actions) –Get feedback and revise –Implement action steps and track progress –Review outcomes and revise plan as needed (at least once a year)

Summary Create a plan to position yourself for success –Identify how your skills and interests relate to prominent research questions and the goals of your team and organization –Develop skills and relationships to increase your awareness and ability to act on opportunities as they arise

Professional Development Plans Questions to get started: What do I want to learn? Who do I want to connect with? What do I want to create?

Planned Happenstance Approach Create opportunities by taking action on your curiosity and on chance events Planned: having arranged the parts Happen: to occur by chance Stance: a view or attitude

Planned Happenstance Approach 1.Clarify ideas: identify your interests and follow your curiosity 2.Remove the blocks: wonder “how I can” rather than “I can’t because…” 3.Expect the unexpected: be prepared for chance opportunities, encounters or conversations 4.Take action: learn, develop skills, remain open and follow-up on chance events

Sample Plan Template Identification of Goals Overarching goals –Projects to reach one or more goal Specific actionable steps Skills and relationship assessments Existing skills and relationships Needed skills and relationships –Specific actionable steps

Sample Plan Template Types of specific actionable steps Attend a workshop Present at a conference Write (or coauthor) a paper Join (or create) a learning group Take a course (on campus or online) Attend a meeting or social event

If you don’t know where you want to go, consider conducting a Career Review

Career Review For current and previous positions, ask yourself: Why did you take the job What you enjoyed most What you enjoyed least and frustrations you had Why did you move on (or why you want to move on) What did you learn that would modify your career goals