Your Individual Growth Plan (IGP) Journey

Your Role as the Driver of Your Career

You are the Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) of your career journey. This means you have the power to make decisions that best serve your growth. This guide offers direction, not rigid rules. At its heart, your Individual Growth Plan is a personal tool to reflect, set goals, and take meaningful action.

After completing your IGP, the real magic happens when you commit to continuous learning:

• 📅 Block dedicated calendar time for your development
• 🌱 Use this time for courses, certifications, stretch assignments, reading, or mentorship
• 🔄 Share your learning journey with your team, especially if you’re a manager
• 🚀 Remember, when you prioritize your growth, you inspire others to do the same

Section 1: What Inspires You?

Self-reflection provides the compass for your career decisions. In this section, you’ll explore these 5 key questions:

1. What parts of your role light you up and keep you engaged?
2. What work gives you that feeling of excitement and belonging?
3. Which areas of your work leave you feeling drained?
4. How do you learn best and most naturally?
5. Looking ahead 2-3 years, what role do you envision for yourself and why?

Be flexible with yourself here. You might choose to dive deep using tools like:

• Myers Briggs assessment
• Strengths Finder assessment
• Learning style exploration

Or you might prefer a simpler check-in approach. Both are perfectly valid!

Need inspiration? Listen to fellow GitLab team members share what energizes and drains them at work:

What brings you energy?

What depletes your energy?

Stuck on these questions? Try this: Keep a simple energy journal for one week. Note when you feel energized or drained throughout your workday, then look for patterns to guide your reflection.

Section 2: Finding Your Focus

Understanding your desired growth direction helps you set meaningful goals and find the right resources. In this section, you’ll clarify your role trajectory by answering these 3 questions:

1. Do you want to continue growing on your current team or explore something new?
2. Are you interested in managing a team or department someday?
3. Would you prefer developing specialized expertise as an individual contributor?

Dream big here! Consider various paths:

• Maybe you’re curious about management
• Perhaps you’re excited to deepen your expertise as an IC leader
• You might be ready for a career transition to a new team

Remember, at GitLab, career growth isn’t limited to climbing a ladder. We grow in all directions!

Section 3: Setting Your Intention

Now that you’ve explored possibilities, it’s time to get specific in Section 3. Looking toward your future, you’ll articulate your medium-term goals by answering:

1. What specific accomplishments would help you reach your career objectives?
2. How will you recognize when you’ve been successful?

Here are some examples to spark your thinking:

Your Scenario	Your Accomplishments	Measuring Your Success
Exploring a Lateral Move	“I want to learn more about product management and develop the skills needed in that field.”	“In 6 months, I’ll be able to clearly articulate whether product management is a good fit for my career path.”
Aspiring to Management	“I aim to develop the skills needed to become an effective people manager as part of my journey toward leading a functional area.”	“I’ll know I’ve succeeded when I’m confidently managing a team of 3 team members.”
Growing as an IC	“I want to become a recognized technical expert in data integrations.”	“Success means leading a data integration project for a key customer account.”

Creating Your Development Goals

With your intentions set, it’s time to create specific development goals that will help you reach your career objectives. Focus on 1-3 meaningful development goals per review period.

Make your goals concrete by considering:

1. What specific resources or support will help you succeed?
2. How does each goal connect to your broader career aspirations?
3. What actionable steps will you take to achieve each goal?
4. How will you engage your network for support and feedback?
5. What challenges might you face, and how will you address them?

Think creatively about your development using the 70-20-10 rule for development:

• 70% from challenging experiences and assignments
• 20% from relationships, networks, and feedback
• 10% from formal training and education

Looking for development opportunities? Explore our resource repository of programs and learning platforms. Bookmark resources that align with your growth direction.

Pro Tip: If you can’t find what you need internally, remember the Growth and Development Benefit can cover university programs, coding classes, external certifications, coaching, and more!

Bringing Your Plan to Life: Track, Reflect, and Adapt

Your IGP is a living document designed to evolve with you. Workday will remind you to review and refresh your IGP every 6 months after your manager provides input. Consider setting your own calendar reminders to stay on track.

Remember to update your development goals directly in Workday as you make progress. Here are ways to keep your IGP alive throughout the year:

1. Choose a format that works for you to track your progress. Check out these examples.
2. Schedule at least one quarterly career conversation with your manager during a 1:1.
3. Review your IGP before completing the Engagement Survey to provide informed feedback on your career growth.
4. Before participating in the 360 feedback program, review your IGP and ask for specific feedback on your development areas.
5. Include your growth journey and lessons learned in your Talent Assessments.

Here’s a sample timeline to help you maintain momentum throughout the year:

When	Your Action	Helpful Resource
February	Review and refresh your IGP	Workday Guide: Launching an Individual Growth Plan
March - July	Update your goals as you make progress	Workday Guide: Updating Your Development Goals
August	Mid-year IGP review and refresh	Workday Guide: Launching an Individual Growth Plan
September - January	Continue updating goals with your progress	Workday Guide: Updating Your Development Goals

Resources to Support Your Journey

1. Watch this interview with a GitLab team member who used their IGP to successfully navigate a career transition:

1. Listen to team members share their experiences with non-linear careers at GitLab:

1. If you’re in Engineering, check out this Engineering-specific IGP Template that combines the Engineering Career Framework, Career Conversation Meeting Template, and Job Framework