This was a completely different process from our performance reviews at Slack, which were run by HR. That performance review process is about how much you get paid, how you're evaluated in a role, etc. But this kind of stuff was much more about a broader lens on the person. It can be a really good mechanism for roles that are so heads down focused on what's next. But then you can bring them up to talk about like, why are you here in the first place? What is it you want out of this?

This template was written for April's direct reports, who were mostly director and group level people. They're already managers, and thus the conversation was more explicitly supposed to be long term. These conversations would happen during 1x1s.

I think the need for this template came about after April hired a bunch of independent people like myself who did stuff on our own. But she knew that people wanted some sort of interaction or support around how to grow their personal careers at Slack. So this felt like an opportunity to connect the dots on it beyond the performance review process.

I ended up using this template with some of my directs at Slack and ended up being able to unearth a couple of bigger things with some people.

Another good reason to keep development and performance reviews separate is that it makes it easier to have an honest conversation about this section. Then, this discussion about development areas can be on a different timeframe, different 1x1 schedule, can really feel like a different thing from performance.

It can also be framed more like "how can I - as a manager - help you?" I think that's an important piece of the puzzle. Because if someone comes to me and says, "I'd like more opportunities to maximize strategic thinking because I think I'm week at that and need more room on it" or "I'm a weaker writer" then I can say "Well, what are some opportunities outside or within the company we can carve out for you so you have some lightweight ways to do that."

Again, it feels like more of an invitation. Someone people will just be always selling and BS themselves. But I think most people -- when offered this question -- are pretty good at saying, "here are the places where I need help or would like to spend more time."

I really like the 12 months / 3 years / beyond Slack framing here as a way to really think about your own career. I think a lot of people get really caught up in -- I want to be promoted to Group PM or whatever. But that has nothing to do with the long term arc of the career you want to build.

This is the shortest time frame because this was explicitly supposed to be a conversation around the longer term.


I think this third prompt is particularly interesting. It's an invitation to talk to your manager about things that are explicitly about your job.

In general, if you ask an employee what they're going to do in a personal development plan, they're going to say something like, "I would like to have this impact on this company, blah blah blah." But if you ask them what they want to do outside of Slack and what is important to them career-wise, that's much more of an invitation. The door is now open for you to talk about yourself more broadly than as a person in this job working with your manager. It opens the door to talk about broader goals and how the manager can support you. I think that's a really smart rhetorical device.

I don't know how much I love the "in a world with no constraints" part, because my answer would be a golf pro or something like that. That's not that useful.

But I do think the way I ended up answering this question (which has stuck with me) was something like, I probably spend my time advising and investing in startups, working with founders and heads of product in an advisory role, as a way to help support them because that's the fun part of the job for me.

It's a way of basically asking "who do you want to be when you grow up?"

Fareed Mosavat

At Slack, we used this personal development plan template to encourage reflection and discussion with managers about longer-term career goals.

The goal of the personal development plan is to facilitate discussion which will help your manager support you in meeting your career and personal goals.

 You, the employee, are the author and owner for your career development plan.

Help you hone your self-awareness around strengths and weaknesses,

To opportunistically and proactively identify development opportunities inside and outside of Slack, and

To consider your career goals as input to the role scope and priorities you are asked to take on - balanced with the needs of the team and the business, of course.

[Fill in 1-5 strengths, based on your own self-assessment, and considering feedback you’ve received through performance reviews]

[Fill in 1-5 development areas, based on your own self-assessment, and considering feedback you’ve received through performance reviews]

Within the next 3 years, I would like to:

Thinking beyond Slack, or even a specific time horizon, in a world in which I had no constraints, I would:

Taking into account your 12-month and 3-year goals, as well as your self-described strengths and weaknesses, these are specific steps I plan to take in the next 12 months and how I would like my manager’s support:

[Fill in. Example: double down on a strength which will help you prepare to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself, e.g., taking on more responsibility around communicating the Slack product roadmap if your desire is to be a Head of Product in the future.]

[Fill in. Example: work on addressing a development area if you believe it will hold you back from achieving your mid- or long-term goals, e.g., taking a public speaking class and asking for your manager’s support in doing more speaking internally at Slack to help you overcome stage fright or low executive presence.]

[Fill in. Example: contributing to a strategic partnership if you would like to develop functional expertise around BD / deals to support your long-term goal of being a founder.]

Personal development plan at Slack

[Personal Development Plan: Name]

Strengths:

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