“I'm sorry but there isn't really a checklist.”
Career Ladder
The uniform approach that many large companies adopt for their employees often falls short. Optum was no exception, providing leaders with various goal-oriented tools and management programs for team development and review. I wanted to create a more hands-on and personalized method, enabling me to work closely with my team members to foster their growth through specific self-review topics, relevant skills, and a goals worksheet to guide and measure their progress throughout the year. With these principles in mind, I designed and built the "Career Ladder" worksheet and workflow.
The uniform approach that many large companies adopt for their employees often falls short. Optum was no exception, providing leaders with various goal-oriented tools and management programs for team development and review. I wanted to create a more hands-on and personalized method, enabling me to work closely with my team members to foster their growth through specific self-review topics, relevant skills, and a goals worksheet to guide and measure their progress throughout the year. With these principles in mind, I designed and built the "Career Ladder" worksheet and workflow.
Goal
_ Develop a custom worksheet to help managers and reports create a focused goal plan for advancing to the next role on their career path
_ Define focus areas assigned by the leadership team for various roles, creating a checklist for designers to follow and grow within the company
_ Establish a flexible and adaptable connection point for managers and designers, ensuring a clear roadmap for the designers' development. Self Ratings + Manager Ratings
Optum utilizes a framework called the Common Language of Leadership (CLL), which includes a set of attributes across various themes that are quite subjective and general. Each person can address these attributes and rate their performance based on a specific attribute. I aimed to create a worksheet that considers the user's current role and links specific CLL attributes to it. As part of the leadership team, I identified the most crucial attributes and assigned value to each. The manager would then rate the user on these same attributes. Additionally, I compiled a list of specific skills relevant to the role that both the user and the manager would use for rating.
Defining Goals
The main purpose of the user and manager ratings is to identify areas of alignment or significant discrepancies in their assessments. These areas are crucial for setting up goals for the user. By using the next role as a benchmark, we can tailor these goals to meet the user's needs and help them advance in their career within the organization.
Action Plan
We know your next role and the leadership's focus areas, as well as where empoyees and managers have identified key areas for improvement. Now it's time to put a plan together. I collaborate with my reports to define their goals and establish measurable actions. Whether they learn better through hands-on experience, watching TED talks, attending conferences or seminars, or using LinkedIn or other learning platforms, it's crucial to tailor actions to their preferred learning styles. This approach ensures they can succeed and grow into their new role or further develop in their current one. Not all goals can be achieved within a year or a quarter; some are ongoing. This worksheet is designed to be used throughout the year, allowing flexibility so that your reports have an active plan for continuous growth and learning.
_ Develop a custom worksheet to help managers and reports create a focused goal plan for advancing to the next role on their career path
_ Define focus areas assigned by the leadership team for various roles, creating a checklist for designers to follow and grow within the company
_ Establish a flexible and adaptable connection point for managers and designers, ensuring a clear roadmap for the designers' development. Self Ratings + Manager Ratings
Optum utilizes a framework called the Common Language of Leadership (CLL), which includes a set of attributes across various themes that are quite subjective and general. Each person can address these attributes and rate their performance based on a specific attribute. I aimed to create a worksheet that considers the user's current role and links specific CLL attributes to it. As part of the leadership team, I identified the most crucial attributes and assigned value to each. The manager would then rate the user on these same attributes. Additionally, I compiled a list of specific skills relevant to the role that both the user and the manager would use for rating.
Defining GoalsThe main purpose of the user and manager ratings is to identify areas of alignment or significant discrepancies in their assessments. These areas are crucial for setting up goals for the user. By using the next role as a benchmark, we can tailor these goals to meet the user's needs and help them advance in their career within the organization.
Action PlanWe know your next role and the leadership's focus areas, as well as where empoyees and managers have identified key areas for improvement. Now it's time to put a plan together. I collaborate with my reports to define their goals and establish measurable actions. Whether they learn better through hands-on experience, watching TED talks, attending conferences or seminars, or using LinkedIn or other learning platforms, it's crucial to tailor actions to their preferred learning styles. This approach ensures they can succeed and grow into their new role or further develop in their current one. Not all goals can be achieved within a year or a quarter; some are ongoing. This worksheet is designed to be used throughout the year, allowing flexibility so that your reports have an active plan for continuous growth and learning.