Building Your Growth Passport

Your Growth Passport: Build, Reflect, Achieve.

I recently attended an inspiring presentation by Roxana Romanescu, Heat-Not-Burn Category Director in Philip Morris International Global Travel Retail, on building a meaningful Growth Passport—our Individual Development Plan (IDP). Her session emphasized that growth is intentional, supported, and measurable. Here are some key takeaways, now enriched with references to our own internal growth culture:

What Makes a Good Growth Passport?

1. Start with Reflection:
   Roxana encouraged us to step back and assess our current state—using feedback, reviewing past performance, and clarifying career aspirations. This mirrors the spirit of our recent internal event, DNA Talks: Feedback for Growth, where colleagues from across the organization gathered to discuss how constructive feedback fuels personal and professional development. 

2. Stay Focused:
   Don’t overload your plan. Select a few key areas that align with your personal and organizational goals—a principle echoed in our internal conversations about prioritizing growth areas for maximum impact.

3. Practice, Practice, Practice:
   Roxana highlighted the 70/20/10 approach: 70% on-the-job experience, 20% learning from others, 10% formal training. This practical model is also reflected in our internal learning initiatives, where peer learning and real-world application are highly valued. 

4. Set Realistic Timelines:
   Break actions into smaller steps with short deadlines to keep up momentum. This approach was discussed in our DNA Talks, where setting achievable milestones was identified as a key to sustaining growth. 

5. Lean on Your Growth Network:
   Engage your manager, peers, mentors, and coaches for support and fresh perspectives. Our internal event reinforced the importance of building a feedback-rich environment, where everyone is encouraged to support each other’s development. Here you may find more about Roxana's perspective on the workplace friendships: How work friendships can boost professional and personal development | PMI - Philip Morris International

6. It’s all about Behavior, Knowledge, Skills & Mindset!

   
   
   
   

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It’s Time for Your Travel Souvenir…

Roxana also introduced a practical framework for crafting your IDP using prompts like:

• Guide me in building my IDP.
• Help me select a focus area by asking relevant questions.
• Ensure I have all the information needed regarding strengths and development areas.
• Define my current role and key capabilities.
• Identify the next role I aspire to and the capabilities needed for that step.

This mirrors the collaborative spirit of our internal growth discussions, where sharing experiences and asking the right questions are seen as essential to building effective development plans. 

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Refine Your Prompt: Build Your IDP with Purpose

Let’s create an IDP focusing on three core areas:

• Set SMART Objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.
• Develop Skills Weekly: Incorporate the 70/20/10 model.
• Track Measurable Outcomes: Examples include leading meetings, mentoring others, or contributing to strategic projects.

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Final Thought

Roxana Romanescu’s presentation, combined with our organization’s ongoing commitment to feedback and growth, is a timely reminder that development is a shared journey. Whether you’re just starting your IDP or refining it, these principles—supported by both external expertise and our internal culture—can help you grow with confidence and clarity.

For more about the event that Roxana presented:

Volkan Yorulmaz: Unlearning, Multiplying, and Growing: Leadership Lessons from PMI’s Global Travel Retail Conference

Volkan Yorulmaz: Brutal Truth, Simple Rules: What Toni Nadal Teaches Us About Growth, Development, and Feedback

Tradition and Changing Careers: A Reflection

Two years ago, I took a picture of my mom’s cherry jam cooking in the sun and shared thoughts about patience, hard work, and how careers are changing. This year, I took the same picture and thought about what’s different and what’s the same.

For the original post, visit: Volkan Yorulmaz: Mom’s Sun-cooked Sour Cherry Jam vs. Career

My mom’s cherry jam is almost perfect again, showing the lasting value of tradition and patience. Like before, it needs more sun and time. The process is the same: bring it in at night to keep it dry, and let the sun do its job. It reminds us that some things are worth the wait and the work.

But our work lives keep changing fast. The straight, predictable careers we were told to follow are becoming outdated. Technology and industry changes have sped up in the last two years.

While making jam still needs time, work, and a few ingredients, building a career doesn’t. In a world where industries change overnight and jobs quickly become outdated, being able to adapt and keep learning is very important. As someone recognized as a top learner, I can attest to the value of lifelong learning.

Being recognized as the top learner in Finance Fundamental means a lot for me!

Looking at my mom’s unchanged jam recipe and the ever-changing recipe for career success, I see the need to balance tradition with innovation. We should value the patience and hard work of old practices, but also be ready for new opportunities and learning.

Here’s to the sweet success of both good jam and a good career, each needing their own mix of time, work, and adaptability. A well-managed career path involves an individual development plan and regular performance review meetings with your supervisor to reach your career objectives. So, if you haven't done yet, it is time to create/update your individual development plan and have a performance review meeting.

Career development is like making cherry jam under the sun. It’s a slow and steady process, where each ray of knowledge ripens your skills, just as the sun ripens the cherries. Over time, these skills are collected and condensed into a sweet jam of expertise, ready to spread on the bread of opportunities.