Skill Development

Action Plan
Your action plan

You should now be aware of which skills you would like to develop.
Your action plan is a place for you to record your goals (the actions that will help you develop your
skills).

The 5 principles of goal setting

Before you start, take a moment to review Locke and Lathams 5 Principles of Goal Setting (Locke &
Latham, 1990):

Clarity: Goals should be clear and specific, covering for example, what will be done, how it
will be done and when it will be done.
Challenge: Goals should be challenging enough to stretch and motivate you. If goals feel
intimidating they may be too challenging. If this is the case, the goal setter should consider why
the goal feels so intimidating and should change it.
Commitment: The goal setter should feel committed to the goal. If commitment is not felt
the goal setter should consider why and should change the goal to something they feel more
committed to.
Feedback: Progress towards goals should be systematically reviewed by the goal
setter or others. When progress is not made as expected the goal setter should consider why
and should change the goal, if necessary. A well-written goal might include how and when
progress will be reviewed.
Task complexity: Goals should take into account the complexity of the actions required
to achieve them. This relates particularly to the time and resources available to the goal setter.
If the goal setter feels there is insufficient time or resources they should change the goal (and/or
the time and resources available).

Example
Skill to develop
Presentation skills

Goal
By November I aim to video myself five times giving a 10 minute presentation on mountain biking. For
each presentation I will get feedback and marks out of ten from Sameer and Leila. After each video I will
review my progress.

Copyright The Careers Group, University of London

[Date of this version: 09 May 2014]
The Careers Group believes that all information is correct at the time of publication.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. 1990. A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall

Copyright The Careers Group, University of London

[Date of this version: 09 May 2014]
The Careers Group believes that all information is correct at the time of publication.

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5 Principles
Checklist

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Is your goal Clear (specifically

what, how, when)?
Is your goal Challenging
enough to be motivating?
Do you feel Committed to
your goal?
Have you stated how and
when progress towards your
goal will be monitored and
acted upon if necessary
(Feedback)?
Do you realistically have the
time and resources required to
achieve the goal (Task

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Copyright The Careers Group, University of London

[Date of this version: 09 May 2014]
The Careers Group believes that all information is correct at the time of publication.