When I first spoke to Sean Hanlon, I felt an instant connection. He was fun, engaging, and thoughtful. Over the years, I’ve admired his dedication to ensuring the leaders within his company get the support and development they require.

Sean is the CEO of Dillon, an employee-owned professional consulting firm that specializes in planning, engineering, environmental science and management. It’s a large company, with more than 1,000 employees in offices across Canada. They’re an exceptional, engaged group of people.

Sean, who became Dillon’s CEO in March 2020, just as the COVID 19 pandemic was upending the world, took the job wanting to pursue his interest in helping others develop.

The result is a peer leadership development program he and his colleague Dillon President Shayne Giles put together is very impressive.

Earlier this month, Vision Coaching’s Lianne Krakauer shared insights on what it takes to achieve your personal best and why high achievers tend to shy away from talking about their proudest moments.

She revealed her own journey to drive home the point.

“I recently completed my first 10-kilometre race. I’m 55 years old and was never a runner. When the pandemic shut down the local gym, I found myself choosing to run to stay fit and manage my stress. Three years later, I achieved a ‘personal best’ by running the 10 kilometres in under an hour,” she says.

“Finishing the race with an unexpectedly good time is one of my proudest accomplishments. It was also a lesson in how goal achievement takes different forms,” she says.

“If you are struggling to achieve a personal or professional goal, looking back at proud accomplishments provides valuable insights about your unique strengths and motivators.”