Creating a Career Canvas: A Career and Development Planning Framework

The Career Canvas is a structured career and development planning framework that aligns individual aspirations with business goals. A practical guide for managers and HR teams.

TL;DR: The Career Canvas framework helps HR leaders and managers guide employees in aligning career aspirations with life goals. By identifying individual Ikigai and planning for multiple future scenarios, organisations can foster purposeful career development. This approach prepares employees for a non-linear career path, enhancing engagement and adaptability.

School and college provide a structured, predictable journey from early education to entering the workforce. Each year has a start and a finish, one step follows another. Then all of a sudden you find yourself an educated, tax-paying member of society - and it is around this time that the predictable journey can turn into the subway map of a city you are visiting for the first time.

Careers today are no longer linear. The days of 50 years at the same company with a gold watch are gone. Skills are more transferable than ever, and options for each of us have grown. But most career development resources assume you already have a clear path in mind.

The Integrated Career and Development Planning Framework The ICDP Framework was developed by Martin Sutherland, Founding Partner at Peopletree Group, after years of advising C-Suite executives across Paris, Mexico, Texas, and 47 countries. At its core, it borrows from the Japanese concept of Ikigai - meaning 'reason for being' - and integrates it with scenario planning, the Business Model Canvas, and the 70/20/10 development model.

You can use this framework as a manager with someone in your team, as an HR Business Partner for your employees, or for yourself as a way to figure out your next step for growth.

How do you identify your Ikigai?

The first step in the ICDP Framework is to identify the elements of your Ikigai - the intersection between what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.

Research from Psychology Today reminds us that 'individuals who believe that their life is worth living were less likely to die than counterparts without this belief.' Since we spend so much of our time at work, that time should be as purposeful as possible.

The four Ikigai questions

What you love: Reflect on your passions and interests. What activities or tasks make you feel energised and engaged?
What you are good at: Consider your skills and strengths. What are you really great at, and what do others often ask you for help with?
What the world needs: Think about the broader impact. What issues or needs in your organisation or community are important to you?
What you can be paid for: Assess your marketable skills. What are employers willing to pay you for, and how does this align with your passions and strengths?

Why plan for multiple career futures?

The future is uncertain. It always has been, and it always will be. The ICDP Framework encourages you to create multiple career scenarios. This helps you prepare for different possibilities and stay adaptable.

Scenario planning means imagining various future scenarios based on different probabilities and preparing plans for each. What steps would you follow if you wanted to take on a leadership role within the next five years? What if you decided to pivot to a different industry? What if you moved countries?

Why multiple futures matter People who plan for only one future are fragile when that future does not materialise. People who plan for three futures are resilient. The goal is not to predict which path you will take - it is to be ready for more than one.

Step 3: Design your Career Canvas

Inspired by the Business Model Canvas from Strategyzer, the Career Canvas is a visual tool that helps you map out your career strategy. Careers are not that different from businesses - so we adapted the value proposition canvas for professional development.

Have you ever considered: what is your personal, professional value proposition?

The seven elements of your Career Canvas

What I love: Note down your passions and interests. Think about activities that energise and engage you.
What I am good at: List your core skills and achievements. Highlight your strengths and areas of expertise.
Successes I have had: Document your past successes and accomplishments. These showcase evidence of your proven capabilities.
My value proposition: Define what you are offering, the problems you solve, and why you are the best person for the job.
What is increasing in value: Identify areas where value is growing in your field.
Where it is increasing in value: Pinpoint where these growing values align with your interests and skills - a geography, a department, or a list of other companies.
What the world needs: Recognise the broader needs in your organisation or industry that resonate with you.

Step 4: Develop your Career Board of Directors

Just as companies have boards of directors for guidance and oversight, your career can benefit from having a personal advisory board. You may only need one or two of these, and some roles might overlap.

Who belongs on your career board

A mentor who has walked a similar path and can share hard-won experience
A sponsor who has influence and can advocate for you in rooms you are not in
A coach who challenges your thinking and helps you develop self-awareness
A peer who is at a similar stage and can offer honest, grounded perspective
A domain expert who has deep knowledge in an area you want to develop

Step 5: Implementation using the 70/20/10 development model

Planning without execution is like dreams without action. Career development is no different. The 70/20/10 model is one of the most effective approaches to learning and development - developed in the 1980s by the Centre for Creative Leadership.

70% Experiential Learning: Get experience through challenging assignments and on-the-job learning. Speak to your manager or HR about this, share your plan with them, and ask for support.
20% Social Learning: Learn from peers, mentors, and networks. This is where your Career Board of Directors becomes invaluable.
10% Formal Learning: Attend workshops, courses, and training programmes. This is the smallest slice - but it provides the frameworks that make the other 90% more effective.

Development Planning Peopletree Group's Development Planning solution targets future skills needed in each role and ties learning to ROI - with personalised development plans linked to business goals. Explore Development Planning

Sustaining your career growth

There are always corporate ladders to climb, but sustainable career growth is about more than just the ladder. The most successful people value continuous learning, adapting to change, and maintaining a healthy balance between work and life.

If you manage people, be a custodian of their growth. Encourage development, inclusivity, and adaptability within your team. Be a champion of a development culture and contribute to building People Ecosystems.

For managers and HR professionals The ICDP Framework is not just for individual use. When managers use it with their teams, it transforms career conversations from vague discussions about 'growth' into structured dialogues about aspiration, capability, and opportunity. It is the foundation of a development culture.

TAILA - AI-Powered Career Development TAILA gives managers personalised career conversation guides, development area summaries, and job pathway insights - so every career conversation is grounded in data and aligned to business needs. Explore TAILA

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Career Canvas framework?

The Career Canvas framework, also known as the Integrated Career and Development Planning (ICDP) Framework, is a structured approach for individuals and HR professionals to align career aspirations with personal purpose. It helps employees navigate non-linear career paths by integrating the Japanese concept of Ikigai with scenario planning and development models.

How does the Career Canvas framework help with career development?

This framework assists with career development by first helping individuals identify their Ikigai-their reason for being-which clarifies what they love, are good at, what the world needs, and what they can be paid for. It then encourages planning for multiple future scenarios, making career paths more adaptable and resilient to change.

What is Ikigai and why is it important for career planning?

Ikigai is a Japanese concept meaning 'reason for being.' In career planning, it helps individuals find purpose and meaning in their work by identifying the intersection of their passions, strengths, what the world needs, and what they can earn. This alignment leads to more fulfilling and sustainable career choices.

Who can use the Integrated Career and Development Planning Framework?

The ICDP Framework is versatile and can be used by various stakeholders. Managers can use it to guide team members, HR Business Partners can implement it for employee development, and individuals can apply it to plan their own career growth and next steps.