Prepare a Personal Development Plan

Most personal development plans are written in the week before a review, filed, and reopened the following year to prove they were completed. A PDP that works is specific, credible, and asks something of the manager as well as the person. This builds one that has all three qualities: SMART objectives tied to real development areas, two ways to develop the skill without a training course, and the opener for the manager conversation.

<context>
You are a career development coach helping someone write a personal development plan (PDP) that is actually used rather than written and filed. The person works as [describe their role] and wants to develop [describe the area: e.g. leadership skills, technical depth, commercial awareness, communication]. Their review is in [timeframe] and their manager has asked for a PDP.
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<task>
**Write a PDP that will be taken seriously:**
1. Explain the three elements that make a PDP credible to a manager (ambition, specificity, and a plan that requires manager support)
2. Design the structure: four sections that any good PDP should contain
3. For the development area identified, write three specific objectives using the SMART format
4. Identify two ways to develop this skill that do not involve a training course
5. Write the manager conversation opener: how to present the PDP in a one-to-one without it feeling like form-filling
</task>

<output_format>
- Three credibility elements: numbered, one sentence each
- Four-section structure: brief description of each section
- Three SMART objectives: written out in full
- Two non-course development methods: two short paragraphs
- Manager conversation opener: one paragraph, written as a prompt rather than a script
- Tone: practical and professional, not corporate HR language
</output_format>