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The Silent Pressure of Black Excellence in Goal Setting:
A Professional Development Journey
For Black professionals, goal-setting often feels like a performance. We don’t just set work goals; we set career goals that are bigger, bolder, and more significant than most. But behind the vision boards and professional development plans lies a silent pressure: the weight of Black excellence.
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This blog will help you:
Ready to strengthen your network and head into the new year with intention? Let’s dive in.
Before you can nurture your network, you need to identify the people who’ve been instrumental in your career this year. Take a moment to think about:
Action Tip: Create a short list of the five most impactful relationships you’ve had this year. Write down one specific way each person contributed to your growth.
Gratitude is a simple yet powerful way to maintain and strengthen connections. The key is to make it personal and specific. Instead of generic “thanks for everything” messages, highlight what the person did and why it mattered to you.
How You Can Show Your Gratitude:
Action Tip: Send personalized notes via email or handwritten cards. If possible, invite them for coffee or a virtual chat to express your gratitude directly.
If you’ve fallen out of touch with key connections, year-end networking events are a great way to reconnect. These events offer a casual yet professional setting to check in with peers, mentors, and even new potential connections.
Where to Find Events:
Attending these events not only strengthens your existing network but also helps expand it, introducing you to people who can play a critical role in your professional development in 2025.
Action Tip: Before attending, prepare a short “year-in-review” story about your career progress and goals. This makes it easier to spark meaningful conversations.
While group events are great, nothing beats a personalized conversation. Use this time of year to schedule one-on-ones with your key connections to reflect on the year and discuss future opportunities.
Conversation Starters:
These conversations show genuine interest in their perspective and can strengthen your relationship.
Action Tip: Offer to treat them to coffee, lunch, or even a virtual meeting if in-person isn’t feasible.
The relationships you nurture now can continue to grow in the new year—but only if you’re intentional. A connection plan ensures you’re staying top of mind with your network, even when life gets busy.
Ideas for Your Plan:
Action Tip: Make a list of three new connections you want to establish next year and find relevant networking events or groups to build those relationships.
Your career isn’t just built on skills or accomplishments—it thrives on the relationships you cultivate. As you close out the year, take the time to reflect, express gratitude, and intentionally nurture your connections. Whether it’s reaching out to a mentor, attending a networking event on Meetup.com, or sending a thoughtful note to an advocate, these small actions can have a big impact on your professional journey.
The main benefit of this “press tour” concept is keeping my momentum going. When it comes to networking, your work is never finished. At some point, you become the person people are trying to meet—and that’s what you’re working toward. But something with such abstract benefits can be hard to get out of bed for. But when I’m tempted to bed rot after a day of work instead of putting on my networking outfit and leaving the house, I pump myself up by reopening my vision board and remembering that if I want my life to feel like a movie, I have to go on the press tour.
he key to 2025 isn’t just setting ambitious career goals—it’s building the network to help you achieve them. Let’s make it a year of connection and growth.
For more career chats, check them out here.
Crazy Curls & Career Confessions
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The Double Standard of Professional Development Goals
When I first started mapping out my career, I focused on a clear career map: promotions, accolades, and a rise to the top. That I could have a fair shot based on the merits of my contributions assessed by a meritocracy. I attended networking events, created a professional development plan, and even kept a goal tracker to measure my progress.
But the unspoken truth about being Black in corporate spaces is this: the standards are different. Your workplace experience isn’t just about strengths in the workplace—it’s about proving your worth in a system that frankly was not built in our favor. I hate to sound cynical, but the reality of Corporate America proves that, that’s what it is!
When Excellence Becomes Exhausting
There was a time when I thought success meant doing it all. Every networking event, every extra project, every opportunity to show that I could handle more. I wanted my employment goals to reflect my ambition.
But somewhere along the way, I lost myself. My professional goals weren’t about me—they were about meeting the expectations placed on me as a Black professional.
“But the unspoken truth about being Black in corporate spaces is this..."
The standards are different.
Reclaiming Career Goals for Myself
Last year, I made a mindset shift: I stopped chasing goals that weren’t mine. Instead of setting goals that looked good on a goal-setting template or in an annual review, I focused on the bigger picture. What do I need out of this moment to incrementally help my career in the long run. So here’s what that looked like:
A Real Career Map: Instead of following a generic professional development plan, I focused on mapping out goals that went beyond performance metrics to encompass the entire employee experience— being strategic about the work I take on, building social capital, enhancing workplace relationships, and a holistic approach to growth. Grab the 2025 Goal Setting Worksheet HERE.
The Lesson: You Don’t Have to Carry It All
Your Black excellence is powerful, being black in professional settings should never feel like a burden. Be you, be bold and allow for your team to see you and what you have to offer to your job. Your work goals, professional development plan, and career map should work together strategically so you are working smarter not harder.
This year, I’m focusing on employment goals that serve me. And I’m letting go of the pressure to be perfect. Because excellence isn’t about doing everything—it’s about doing what matters most.
So, as you set your career goals and map out your year, remember: your journey is enough, just as it is.
Check out The Career Chat Corner for tips on building confidence, achieving career goals, and thriving in your workplace experience.
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