Ld 70 20 10 Plan

---
name: ld-70-20-10-plan
description: Builds a development plan that carries a programme back into the work, producing on-the-job assignments, coaching and peer learning, and the formal pieces for a role or a programme. Use for "run ld-70-20-10-plan", "70-20-10 plan", "70 20 10 model", "learning on the job", "blended development plan", "stretch assignments for a role", "coaching and mentoring plan", "training does not transfer to work", part of the AI for L&D and Corporate Training Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# 70-20-10 Plan

## When To Use
The programme is all classroom and nothing happens back at work: people finish the course on Thursday and on Monday their week looks exactly the same. Use this when a role or a programme needs its learning spread across real assignments, other people and the formal pieces. It answers one question: what will people do, with whom, at work, so the course is only one part of the learning?

## When Not To Use
If you only need the manager's conversations around one programme that already exists, run Manager Follow-Up Kit. If the formal modules themselves are not yet sequenced, run Curriculum Map first.

## Inputs
- The role or programme, and the capability it should build (the goal or top actions from an Action Map, if you have one).
- The formal pieces that exist or are planned (Curriculum Map, module list or course outline).
- Real work in the role (projects, recurring tasks, problems that land on the team) and who could coach or mentor, by role.
If you have none of this, I start from the role title and one capability and mark the output as a first draft.

## Approach
70-20-10, from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL page, R5): development comes mostly from challenging assignments and developmental relationships, with coursework as one part. CCL calls it a guideline, not a formula, so the judgment is in choosing experiences that teach the specific thing, not in hitting a ratio. The failure it prevents: a plan that reads "70 percent on the job" with nothing behind it, so the 70 means "figure it out alone" and the course is still the only thing anyone can point to.

## Workflow
1. Ask at most three questions: which capability matters most for this role, what real work in the next [period] could stretch people on it, and who in the team already does it well (by role)?
2. Name the learning need per capability in one line, tied to the goal or action it serves. A need you cannot tie to a goal is parked, not planned.
3. Assignments: pick real work that forces the capability (a first client call, leading a handover, fixing a live process). Match each to the need, since not all experience teaches the same thing; "shadow for a week" teaches watching. Each assignment gets an owner, a support person and a check-in date, and is offered, never a record of who did well.
4. Relationships: coaching, mentoring and peer learning tied to the assignments, not floating. Say who meets whom (by role), how often, and what they talk about first.
5. Formal pieces: only what the assignments need people to know or practise first, linked to the Curriculum Map module or course. Sequence them just before the assignment that uses them.
6. Check the mix against the work, not a ratio: every capability has at least one assignment and one relationship. Never force the percentages; if the role truly needs more coursework, say so.

## Output Format
```markdown
# 70-20-10 Plan
Role or programme: [role / programme] | Period: [start to end] | Owner: [role]
## Assignments at work
| Assignment | Capability and linked goal | Owner | Support person | Check-in date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [real task or project] | [capability: goal or action] | [role] | [role] | [date] |
## Coaching and peer learning
| Relationship | Who meets whom | How often | First topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| [coaching / mentoring / peer] | [role and role] | [cadence] | [topic tied to an assignment] |
## Formal pieces
| Module or course | Before which assignment | Curriculum Map link |
|---|---|---|
| [module] | [assignment] | [module ID or "to add"] |
## Decision
[Programme sponsor] and [L&D lead] approve the assignments and support people by [date].
```

## Done When
- Every capability has at least one assignment and one relationship.
- Every assignment has an owner, a support person and a check-in date.
- Every formal piece is placed before the assignment that uses it.
- No percentage target appears anywhere in the plan.

## Quality Bar
- Assignments are real work in the role, never "exposure" or "shadowing" alone.
- Relationships name roles and a first topic; "find a mentor" is not a plan.
- The formal list is trimmed to what the assignments need, not the full catalogue.
- The plan is built for a role; assignments are offered, and nothing records who did well.

## Next
Run ld-spaced-repetition-plan (Spaced Repetition Plan) to keep the formal pieces from fading.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).