Development Power
Career growth doesn’t always follow a straight line. I know this firsthand. My journey into supply chain wasn’t traditional—I didn’t come from a background in engineering, operations, or manufacturing. I transitioned from hospitality after moving to the United States in 2015. Where there are times I feel enormously lucky - those who work with me know that a favorite word of mine is intentionality - I have been incredibly intentional on how I have processed and developed. I did my first Individual Development Plan (IDP) at Dyson in 2018 and it has been a document and process I have revisited regularly from my promotion to Director, local Head Of Supply Chain, to Regional Head.
What is an IDP, really? It’s a mirror, a map and a motivator.
An Individual Development Plan isn’t just a form or a checkbox in your performance review. Done right, it’s a mirror, a map, and a motivator. For me, it became a tool to pause and ask the kind of questions that are easy to overlook in the day-to-day:
What motivates me?
What are my real strengths?
What’s holding me back?
Everyone has different motivations. For me, it was simple and deeply personal: to provide a better life for my family after moving to a new country. That clarity gave purpose to my development—it wasn’t just about climbing a ladder, it was about building stability and opportunity for the people who mattered most.
Then came the harder part: being honest about my strengths. As a former Englishman, I was raised to be modest, to deflect praise—but development demands self-awareness. I had to look closely at what I was truly good at and own it: leading teams through uncertainty, staying calm under pressure, solving messy problems with clarity. Naming those strengths gave me the confidence to lead more boldly.
But perhaps the most important question an IDP forces you to ask is:
“Where do I need to grow to get where I want to go?”
Not just weaknesses in the traditional sense, but gaps between today’s role and tomorrow’s ambition. For me, that meant developing financial acumen, learning to influence cross-functionally, and thinking more strategically. It meant stepping outside my current comfort zone and into the mindset of the next level of leadership.
An IDP doesn’t give you all the answers—but it helps you ask the right questions, and take the first step with intention.
A well-rounded development plan doesn’t rely solely on training or courses. The most widely respected model for personal growth is the 70-20-10 framework - this framework helped me design a plan that matched how real learning happens—not just in a classroom, but on the job, through people, and in moments of discomfort.
70% Experience: Growth Through Challenge
The most significant growth in my career came not from formal promotions, but from the experiences I stepped into before I felt fully ready. One of the most defining was leading our COVID-19 response and developing business continuity plans (BCPs) at a time when nothing was certain. That work pushed me beyond my functional scope and into true enterprise leadership—making decisions that affected people, processes, and performance across the business. I also raised my hand for projects that weren’t in my job description: cross-regional initiatives, tech rollouts, and operational fire drills that required both speed and empathy.
Those stretch experiences weren’t just resume-builders—they were accelerators. They gave me context, confidence, and capability I wouldn’t have gained through routine. An IDP helped me connect the dots between the skills I wanted to build and the projects that could help me build them.
20% Relationships: A Supply Chain Skill, Not Just a Soft Skill
If there’s one thing I believe every supply chain professional should master, it’s relationship building. Our function is the connective tissue of the business—we collaborate with sales, finance, IT, manufacturing, and more. Without strong relationships, even the best strategies fall apart in execution.
Throughout my career, I’ve leaned heavily on mentorship, peer learning, and open dialogue. Whether it was a leader who challenged my thinking or a peer who coached me through a complex system transition, those relationships sharpened my judgment and gave me a broader view of the business.
Interestingly, as we've returned to more time in the office—something not always popular—it’s made this part of development so much easier. Proximity fuels spontaneity: the hallway chats, the impromptu whiteboard sessions, the quiet moments where trust is built. Your IDP should include not only what you want to learn, but who can help you learn it.
10% Formal Learning: The Right Tools at the Right Time
Formal education plays a smaller role in the 70-20-10 model—but it still matters, especially when it’s strategic and well-timed. For me, formal learning was the glue that held everything else together. I leveraged my ASCM membership, studied for the Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) exam, and participated in every internal workshop I could access—from finance fluency to digital tools to executive communication.
What made it effective was that it wasn’t theoretical. Every course or session I pursued was tied to something I was doing or about to take on. That real-time relevance made the learning stick—and the growth compound.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a people leader is that development is a shared responsibility. It’s our job as leaders to create access—to ensure our teams have the tools, frameworks, and time to engage in meaningful Individual or Personal Development Planning. That includes providing clarity on what good looks like, facilitating exposure to new opportunities, and building a culture where growth is not only encouraged but expected.
But the real progress happens when employees take ownership. Filling out an IDP isn’t the finish line—it’s the starting point. The responsibility to follow through, seek feedback, and apply learning rests with the individual. Growth isn’t something a manager can hand you; it’s something you have to pursue with intention. That’s why I believe development should be a regular topic in 1:1s, not an exceptional one. When we normalize those conversations, we normalize growth—and that’s where real momentum begins.
“Development doesn’t have to be linear, it should be intentional”
My career didn’t follow the textbook path—and that’s precisely why development planning mattered so much. An IDP gave structure to uncertainty. It translated ambition into action. It helped me chart a course from a Senior Manager trying to find his footing, to an executive leading transformational initiatives at a global level.
No matter where you are on your career path—whether you're just entering the field or eyeing the C-suite—take the time to build an IDP. Make it personal. Make it practical. And revisit it often.
Because growth doesn’t just happen. It’s planned, pursued, and lived—one experience, one relationship, and one lesson at a time.