Using Figure 5.4, describe how to use the model to set developmental goals for the employee

Using
Figure 5.4, describe how to use the model to set developmental goals for the
employee population. Are balanced goals important? Explain.

Figure 5.4 provides an example of a person’s work goals plotted
based on

organizational value and developmental value. The goals are
divided into four

quadrants: business-driven development, functional, self-focused
development,

and underutilization.

Business-driven development goals are
high in organizational value and high in

development value. These are things that employees have to do
for work that will

require them to gain new experiences and develop new skills.
These goals tend to be

highly meaningful to employees because they are both important
to the company

and help them build capabilities to advance their careers. The
downside of these

goals is that they tend to be mentally demanding. They require
learning how to do

the work while getting the work done at the same time. People
who have too many

business-driven development goals risk becoming overwhelmed or
burning out:

Functional goals are high in organizational
value but low in development

value. These are things that employees know how to do and have
typically

done before. They are not necessarily easy, but they are
familiar. The advantage

of functional goals is they allow employees to contribute to the
organization

by focusing on important but familiar tasks. The disadvantage is
they

do not push employees to grow and develop new capabilities.
People who

have too many functional goals may feel as if they are stuck in
a rut, doing the

same things over and over.

• Self-focused development goals are low in
organizational value but high in

development value. The advantage of these goals is they allow
employees to

take developmental risks since failure will not have a major
negative impact

on the business. The disadvantage is that employees may never
get around to

these goals since they are not important to the organization.
This quadrant is

sometimes referred to as the “books I want to read” or “classes
I keep hoping

to take” section of someone’s goal plan.

Underutilization goals are low in both
organizational value and developmental

value. These may be goals that used to have more value but have
become

less important or less challenging over time. Underutilization
goals provide

little value to the company or the employee and should be
removed from an

employee’s goal plan if possible. It may make sense to reassign
these goals to

other employees who will gain more developmental value from
performing

them. What may be a relatively unimportant and
low-development-value goal

for a more tenured employee might be a challenging and important
goal for a less-experienced employee.