Personal Development Plan – The Sigmoid Curve

The name is due to the sigmoid shape of its graph (ie S- shaped). It has a base building/introduction phase, followed by a growth phase, then a maturing phase, and finally a declining phase. The curve represents the things and the ways in which you got to where you are, and illustrates that those are seldom the things that keep you there. It implies change, and changing when things are good, not when they start to go bad. It is the story of a product’s life cycle and of many an organisation’s (or individual’s) rise and decline.

The secret of constant growth is to start a new curve before the first one peters out. The right place to start is at point A – when things are going well, when there is time, as well as the resources and the energy, to get the new curve through its initial explorations and flounderings before the first curve begins to dip downwards. But at point A, all the signals suggest that everything is going fine, that it would be folly to change when things are going so well. Often change only comes at point B, when it may be too late. It is often easier to

move on from disasters than from successes.

The discipline of the second curve keeps one sceptical, curious and inventive – the best guide to future practice. Second curve thinking suggests past practice is not necessarily the best guide to future practice in the face of changing circumstances for that practice. There are no perfect answers in a changing world. We must therefore be forever searching.

Source: Charles Handy The Empty Raincoat: Making Sense of the Future, Random House, 1995.

The Sigmoid Curve


PDP Sigmoid Curve Instructions

First you need to understand the purpose of the Sigmoid Curve, explained above.

On the template provided, think of your PDP in terms of curves and reflect on your performance over time. Think about aspects of your job and performance and reflect on your journey. You may wish to reflect holistically or think about separate issues, in which case you may wish to draw more than one curve.

Think carefully about where your curve goes up and down and annotate any significant events or trends relevant to your own performance and capabilities . The curve should represent a base building phase followed by a growth phase, then a maturing phase and a declining phase. It symbolises the ways you got to where you are and where you are going.

Use the curves both to reflect on your past and to anticipate the future. Reflecting on change (in all its many

guises!) is a fundamental part of this process. It should encourage “second curve” thinking.

Your Example:

1. Growth Phase:

2. Maturation Phase:

3. New Growth Phase: