Is It OK to Come Clean About What My Personal Community Goals?
MVP Nominations Are Upon Us … Let’s Discuss Something Important
It’s that time of year again. The time of year where the next round of MVP nominations for Salesforce are due to open up any time now. Last year the 2022 MVP Nominations opened up on Monday 8 November, so if the timetable remains the same this year, then the next round of nominations will go live sometime this week. So right now, it’s worth opening up an important area of discussion around our goals and aspirations within the Trailblazer Community. We all have personal goals and aspirations, the debate however is should we openly talk about those goals and aspirations?
So in this post, I’m going to share my views on the topic and how they’ve changed over the last year, as this time last year my views were different.
So with that in mind, let’s talk about our personal goals and aspirations.
The Inspiration Behind This Post
Before we dive into the topic, let’s first talk about the Twitter post that inspired me to write this to begin with. I noticed that after the 2022 MVPs were announced that more conversation came up about the process behind becoming an MVP, and questions on whether or not we should even aspire to be one were coming in. In fact, earlier in the year I hopped on a call with a couple of current MVPs and someone who maybe should be one to talk all of this. Recently, this conversation was reopened up Zachary Banks.
Here’s Zachary’s tweet:
In my view this is an important conversation … there are some in the Trailblazer Community who feel you should never say aloud that you want to become a Salesforce MVP, then are those like Zach who feel that it’s OK to have those aspirations and that we should normalise talking about them.
But where do I stand? And where do you stand?
Where Do I Stand on the Matter?
For me personally my opinion has changed on this after February this year. Why February you ask? Well, that was when the 2022 Class of Salesforce MVPs were formally announced. For those of you who might know, I along with many others were nominated to become a Salesforce MVP in the 2022 nominations that opened up last November. And like many, I didn’t make the cut this year. On one side I’m OK with this (I’ll get into that later on), but on the other hand, I was felt really gutted that I didn’t become an MVP. At this stage it’s important to ask why was I gutted when I didn’t make the cut? If I’m to answer this honestly, it’s because I want to become an MVP, when I look at the MVPs I know I aspire to be like them, to help the Trailblazer Community like they do, to be a name that people know and trust.
So for me, this time last year I was very much on the side of keeping those aspirations to myself. Now, after experiencing what it is like to see people in the community nominate me and not get through. My feelings on the matter have changed and I’m now more on the side of feeling it’s OK to open and talk about it. I understand that there is still a bit of a stigma on verbalising these goals, but I am now starting to wonder why shouldn’t we talk about it? After all, if we know that there are people out there who have these goals and aspirations, is that not an opportunity to provide some level of mentorship and support to see those people become amazing voices in the Trailblazer Community? Can we not help those with these aspirations become valued and respected contributors in the Salesforce ecosystem?
What About My Views on Motivations?
I think it is our motivations on a matter like this that makes the difference. While I feel it is OK to have aspirations to do things like become an MVP, it is also very important that we keep our motivations behind those goals on the up and up. But what is the up and up when it comes to something like this? Well, in my opinion, the up and up is that the reason for why we do what we do in the community should not be the fact that we have these aspirations. Simply put, I don’t think we should do things like lead a Community Groups, speak at events, or mentor Trailblazers to increase our chances of achieving those aspirations. I don’t what you think about that though. So let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
I guess what I’m trying to say here, is that I feel that we should be willing to do what we do in the comment with or without these achievements to our name, but at the same time it’s OK to want to achieve those things. I hope I’m making that distinction clear as it isn’t easy to fully put it into words.
So What Are Your Aspirations Then?
To close off this post, I guess it will be worthwhile me highlighting what my personal aspirations are in the Trailblazer Community right now. I’ve spent a bit of time talking about how it’s OK to vocalise our goals and aspirations. Yet in this post I haven’t verbalised mine. Maybe I should lead by example.
For myself personally this changes relatively routinely as this year I’ve been able to tick off quite a few of those goals already. For example two of my personal aspirations were to speak at Dreamforce and to start up a new community conference. Both of which I have achieved this year as I spoke at Dreamforce in September and this week sees Automation Dreamin’ take place. In 2022 I’ve been able to tick off multiple aspirations of mine. So at the time of writing I’m beginning to look ahead to other aspirations I have.
Here’s my current list of aspirations:
- Become a Salesforce Architect
- Become a Salesforce MVP
- Be awarded a Golden Hoodie
- Appear on a Salesforce Podcast or YouTube video
- Speak at TrailblazerDX
I know that might not look like a lot of aspirations on paper, but there is a lot of work involved in achieving those things. Several of them are things that are outside of my control. That being said I can continue to work hard in the community and the things in this list that are outside of my control may very well come to pass. We shall see what the future holds for me.
Overall, my main goal is to be a name that is known and respected in the Salesforce ecosystem. I want to be able to do what I can to help those in the Trailblazer Community who are looking for support and guidance as they learn Salesforce and navigate the various career paths that are available to us. That list of personal aspirations I have will not inhibit me from doing what I do in the community, so I’d like to think that my personal aspirations are ones that can be achieved without compromising my personal values.
What about you? What are your goals and aspirations when it comes to your involvement in the Trailblazer Community? I’d love to hear them. Let me know what they are in the comments below or on social media.
