This is apparently the optimal breakdown of experiences for your professional development. 10% on learning new skills through courses, 20% getting feedback and coaching, and lastly 70% through on the job experiences, projects, and challenges.
I first saw this in the book 8 Steps to High Performance by Mark Effron and was also mentioned in one of his HBR articles. At first glance, it seems like a lot devoted to on the job experience and not enough for more structured learning. But after some more though about my development, this seems about right.
I think people, including their managers, look to courses and conferences as a way of developing people. And I know this can have some impact. But developing experiences and building challenges for you and your team, that’s where I’ve seen the most growth. Getting to come up with a marketing plan and strategy for a new segment of the market is going to provide you with way more opportunity for development that learning about it from a course or YouTube video. Putting things into action, seeing cause and effect, and ultimately learning from your work is what allows you to really develop.