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One of our clients, let’s call her Sarah, is the epitome of a high-performing professional. She leads a successful wealth management division. She consistently ranks top in employee engagement, revenue growth, and client satisfaction. Her team respects her, and she has a strong followership. Her clients adore her. And her results speak volumes.
But Sarah is more than just a successful leader. She’s also deeply committed to being a great wife and mother, roles she fulfills with as much passion and intention as she brings to her professional career. From the outside, it seems that she has it all figured out.
However, when we sat down for a recent coaching session, Sarah opened up about a challenge she hadn’t shared before. She admitted to feeling like something was missing. She managed to keep all the balls in the air but knew she couldn’t keep juggling like this indefinitely.
After a comprehensive self-assessment process, input from her team, client feedback, and interviews with senior leaders at her firm, one thing became crystal clear: Sarah was the sole catalyst for nearly every win, success, and achievement in her organization.
Like many successful leaders, Sarah had been so focused on driving results that she wasn’t empowering others to take greater responsibility and succeed. She hadn’t been intentionally developing her team to take the reins, which would allow her to step aside and focus on the bigger picture.
Through a process we called the “Step Down Challenge,” Sarah mapped out every responsibility she handled, assessed which could be delegated, and identified who on her team was ready—or could be developed—to take them on. This intentional process helped her shift from being a driver of results to a cultivator of leadership. Reflecting on the words of Fred A. Manske Jr., “The sign of a great leader is someone who can develop someone who can develop someone,” Sarah realized that her legacy as a leader would not be measured by what she achieved alone but by the leaders she developed and the impact they could create together.
A Moment of Epiphany
It’s not enough to lead others to achieve results; it’s about helping them grow and learn so they can create results themselves.
It gradually dawned on Sarah that she had been so focused on driving results herself that she wasn’t devoting enough time to empowering others and unlocking their potential. More importantly, she realized this required a fundamental shift in her belief system—seeing her team as contributors and individuals with talents worth unlocking.
Recognizing this, we explored how her belief systems influenced her actions, drawing on insights from Robert Dilts’ book, From Coach to Awakener. As her thinking partner, I posed a pivotal question: Who do you want to be as a leader? This single question caused her to pause and reflect. Over the next six months we began to fill in the blanks and answer that question.
Together, we built a written Professional Development Plan (PDP) that helped Sarah grow and empowered her team to step into their own leadership. The team began to learn more about each other’s strengths and became more trustful of one another as a group. They helped one another identify gaps in their professional development plans and collaboratively decided which competencies and skills each person would focus on. This intentional collaboration ensured that their individual strengths complemented each other, making the whole far greater than the sum of its parts.
When Sarah’s goal shifted from being the sole driver of success to building her team’s capacity to lead; it also marked the beginning of her belief system shifting. She realized a powerful truth: she was only one individual, and the leadership team could achieve far more together than apart—or by relying solely on her.
This transition was challenging. Sarah admitted, “Some of the ideas my team came up with were a bit cheesy and not my style.” But letting go, and allowing her team to own the process, they grew increasingly excited about what they were creating together. Over time, Sarah saw how empowering her team strengthened them and liberated her to focus on the bigger picture of leadership. This shift—both in her goals and her beliefs—ultimately transformed her leadership and her team's potential.
Sarah chuckled as she shared an old saying: “You can give someone a fish and feed them for a day, or you can teach them to fish and feed them for a lifetime.” Then she added thoughtfully, “But what I’ve realized through developing my own professional development plan is that my team has skills and approaches I hadn’t even considered. And maybe fishing isn’t even right for them. Together, we co-created new and different ways of doing things—turns out, for them, hunting was the better fit.”
Why Do PDPs Matter?
A PDP is more than just a tool for managing one’s own growth. It provides a strategic framework that empowers individuals and team members to align individual development with broader organizational goals. This helps ensure that growth is intentional, not accidental.
PDPs are forward-looking and future-oriented, in stark contrast to performance reviews, which are backward-looking assessments of what’s already been achieved. Performance reviews identify strengths and areas for improvement, but PDPs use that information to chart a course for the future.
It’s a subtle but crucial distinction. Leadership isn’t about being the hero who solves every problem; it’s about creating an environment where others can thrive. As Sarah discovered, when you focus on developing your team’s capabilities, you unlock sustainable and scalable results.
Six-Part Framework of a PDP
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Career Vision and Goals – Start by clearly understanding your goals, including short-term objectives (the following year) and long-term aspirations (three to five years). For Sarah, this included creating a team that could operate independently while maintaining high performance, freeing her to focus on strategic priorities and spend more time with her family.
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Competency Assessment – Identify the skills, behaviors, competencies, and experiences needed to achieve your goals. This requires an honest evaluation of your strengths and areas for improvement. It also requires input from friends, colleagues, and mentors.
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Learning Objectives – Define specific objectives that address critical development areas. For Sarah, one key objective was to shift from being the sole driver of success to empowering her team to lead. This shifted her belief system about who she wanted to be as a leader.
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Actionable Development Steps – Include concrete actions that make your learning objectives achievable. Sarah’s plan included delegating decision-making authority on critical projects, facilitating team-led strategy sessions, and attending leadership workshops. Each step was tied to a timeline and measurable outcomes. What Sarah created for herself, she was then able to coach her team to do the same—helping them design their own development plans and align their strengths to build a collaborative approach to leadership.
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Support and Resources – Professional development thrives in collaboration. Sarah relied on tools like coaching, leadership development programs, and mentorship opportunities for her team to ensure everyone was equipped to succeed.
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Measurement and Review – A PDP should be a living document. Set regular check-ins to track progress, celebrate wins, and adjust the plan as needed.
Creating a Culture of Learning
When PDPs are embraced across your organization, they benefit every team member and elevate the entire firm. A culture of learning and development emerges – driving innovation, collaboration, and retention by:
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fostering a growth mindset
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signaling that learning is for everyone, including top leaders
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creating an environment where mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities
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opening the door for mentorship and knowledge sharing
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ensuring that personal growth drives organizational success
But remember, a PDP isn’t just a piece of paper – it’s a commitment to intentional growth and an invaluable tool for unlocking individual potential, driving engagement, and creating a sustainable future. PDPs are most effective when designed and owned by the professional, not driven by management, ensuring true accountability and commitment to their growth.
Coaching Questions
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How could you improve your PDP using the six-point framework outlined in this blog?
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How could you help your team improve their engagement in developing PDPs?
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What budget has your team established to invest in your team members in the year ahead?
Sarah’s story proves what’s possible when you take the time to create a PDP and commit to the process. One of the most rewarding aspects of leadership is seeing others grow and thrive because of the opportunities and guidance you’ve provided. Developing others not only strengthens your team; it also creates a lasting legacy of shared success. Ready to develop yourself and your team? Let’s do it.
About ClientWise LLC
ClientWise is the premier business and executive coaching firm working exclusively with financial professionals. We specialize in helping clients optimize growth and maximize revenue by engaging as a knowledgeable partner in accomplishing specific and significant business results. Our full-service coaching program empowers financial advisors, wholesalers, managers and executives to enhance performance through customized, action-oriented solutions based on each client’s specific vision and situation.
Our certified coaches are members of the International Coach Federation (ICF). They adhere to ICF’s strict code of ethics and have the experience and insight to work with you on the unique challenges and opportunities you face each day.
Drawing from an in-depth knowledge of the financial industry, ClientWise’s mission is to professionally develop industry leaders and consistently raise the bar for industry service, commitment and integrity. Simply put, our singular focus is to help you get clear, get focused, and get results.
