Free template · for managers & the people they develop
Free Individual Development Plan (IDP) Template
An individual development plan is one person's written plan for growing toward a role they want: where they are now, where they want to go, the few goals that get them there, and the work that builds each skill. The piece plans often get wrong is the last one — they fill up with courses, when by the 70-20-10 rule of thumb most growth comes from stretch work on the job. This template is the plan for one person. It opens filled in for a fictional support specialist working toward team lead, so you can see how specific a goal should be before you write your own. The learning plan types every activity as Experience, Exposure or Education and works out the actual mix from the hours, so a plan that is secretly a reading list shows up as one. A printable one-pager, shown filled in and blank, is the copy the employee keeps.
Take it with you — free, no signup
Direct download. No email, no account — just the files.
What it does
- Gives you one tab for one person's plan: name, current role, target role, manager, plan start, where they want to go in their own words, and the strengths they will build on.
- Holds up to five goals, each with the skill it builds, what the goal is, how you will know it is met, a target date and a status.
- Lists the learning activities behind those goals — each typed Experience (stretch work on the job), Exposure (learning from people) or Education (courses and reading) — with provider, quarter, hours and status.
- Works out the actual 70-20-10 mix from the hours you plan, and each activity's share of the plan, so you can see at a glance whether the plan leans on courses.
- Opens on a worked example from a fictional company — a senior support specialist working toward team lead, with two goals and five activities — so the file is never a blank grid.
- Includes a printable one-page IDP, shown filled in and blank, for the employee to keep after the development conversation.
Related reading
Own it, don't rent it
Developing a whole team?
This template plans one person. The full workbook runs a whole team of direct reports from one file: a competency library per target role with current-versus-target gap scoring, every goal tied to the gap it closes with uncovered critical gaps flagged, the 70-20-10 mix checked as you fill it in, a readiness call tested against the critical gaps still open, check-ins due from each person's cadence with overdue reviews and stalled goals flagged, a team learning budget by quarter, and one manager dashboard. One file for Excel and Google Sheets, with a Start Here guide, a development-conversation guide with a question bank, and the printable one-pager.
A one-time purchase you keep in your own drive — no per-seat monthly fee, and nothing that stops working because a subscription lapsed.
Not advice: this is a development-planning aid, not HR or legal advice. The 70-20-10 split is a rule of thumb, not a quota. The example company and people are fictitious. A filled-in plan holds personal notes about a named employee — keep it private to the people who need it. Free to use and to share as-is; please don't resell it.