Put Your Dreams on Paper and Get the Support You Need! Vive la Communauté!

Many of us start a new year with resolutions, but fewer of us keep them. Did we lack willpower? Have a bad strategy? Forget to reward small successes? Let’s consider what it takes to hit our targets.

Be Tenacious 

Put your dreams on paper. No rest for the weary. Back in the saddle. 

Here we go 2023. I’m back at it. Chesapeake Bay Swim four here I come! I’ve swum three of the 4.4-mile Chesapeake Bay Swims and completed one of them., last year’s

I’ve kept up with my training, but it’s become more serious again and I will require community and support. I’ve decided to return to my regular Sunday morning swim at the Jersey Aquatic Center Masters (JACM) and will train twice a week with colleagues at the https://www.usms.org/clubs/rutherford-masters-team club. In May, I will travel to Lake Placid to train in its refreshing cold water with my coaches Rob and Stephanie from Colburn  https://colburnbodyconcepts.com and some of their athletes.

Now I have a plan to swim the race again, hopefully with an even better time if the tide cooperates. 


Set Your Goals and the Desired Outcome

For my clients, first things first. You must  decide what your dreams or goals are for the year and write them down. Don’t just think it, write it. If you have trouble articulating your goals, then get some support. Many have done so through strategy planning and with their managers, identifying the goals they wanted to accomplish in the coming year. 

For career development, clarity of future roles is key. Clients can’t be afraid to say, “Here is where I am and here is where I would like to be in a year, three years or even further.” Articulating the desired outcome can be liberating as well as helpful in planning the steps needed to get there. 

What competencies are needed? What skills must be built? What stretch assignments secured? Pairing a career development plan to the career goals can give structure to the process. Then, through key conversations with your managers and key stakeholders, you can clarify possible future roles, competencies required, and a development plan to ensure the competencies and skills are developed.


Get Clarity, Alignment, and the Right Support 

Clients might be afraid, believe they can’t, or have tried in the past with little success. But if they don’t keep getting up and trying, nothing will change. 

It took three attempts for me to finish the Chesapeake Bay swim. I learned so much along the way. During the training for the third try, I realized that I needed more than one coach, a community, and the right drills. 

Getting help in articulating the dream, the next role, or the next promotion may be key to getting started. What would it be like to have a courageous conversation with your manager about  potential future roles? Who could support you in getting the courage to do so? 

Who could be a good mentor, internally or externally, to support you in articulating your dreams, goals, and roles? Seeking out diversity support through employee resource groups (ERGs) might also be beneficial as may seeking sponsors or training programs to assist with skill building and competency development.  

Surrounding yourself with mentors, sponsors, coaches, peer support, and ERGs could make a significant difference in completing your next stretch assignment, reaching your goals, and/or getting that next promotion. 

For my next race, I have a large community and coaches supporting me. It does not guarantee that I will finish it or that my time will be better. But I feel more knowledgeable about the process, understand what it takes, and recognize that I can’t do this on my own. 

Vive la communauté ! 

​If you are interested in setting goals for 2023, getting feedback through a 360 or creating a career or leadership development plan you can learn more about our services and visit our website at www.desormeauxconsutling.com or contact me: [email protected].