The words of Pamela Coke-Hamilton – Executive Director, International Trade Centre which were featured in a newspaper article earlier this year has left a profound impact on me. Mrs Coke-Hamilton declared “I am committed to excellence. I don’t believe any kind of disability should be used as an excuse not to be excellent. At the end of the day, when you call my name, you can say anything about me, but you cannot say that I didn’t do the job, and that I wasn’t great at it.”
Personally, I think this should be a philosophy adopted by all of us. The ability to build a brand of excellence is a personal choice that we should all aspire to. Afterall, we ultimately get to choose how we show up in this world and the kind of impact we want to create and the legacy we wish to leave behind.
In March, I had the extreme pleasure of presenting on the topic ” Showing Up Authentically: Building A Brand of Excellence” at the POWER Summit hosted by the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry in recognition of International Women’s Day. Two subject matters of which I am extremely passionate: women empowerment and personal branding.
Maybe it is the fact that I come from humble beginnings that has sparked a desire in me to always strive for excellence. Nevertheless, this posture has helped me to break down so many barriers while opening the door to new opportunities. Having come up through the ranks in my career, I can safely share that showing up with a commitment to always deliver excellence in all that you do is indeed a winning career strategy. Yes, your organization or business benefits from higher than normal levels of productivity but truthfully, we owe it to ourselves to build a brand of excellence.
Activating Your Personal Vision
When all is said and done, all that truly matters is that we tap into our own personal vision for success since in reality success looks different to everyone. Regardless of the vision you hold, your best chance at winning is to pursue excellence in all that you do. Excellence needs to become your trademark! Your goal should always be to show up and consistently seek to add intentional and meaningful value.
The posture of your mindset and attitude towards life, your dreams and specific goals determines the rigour, discipline and conviction you bring to your execution, which in turn determines your final outcomes. According to Dr Alan Goldhamer “attitude is very important because it determines action but it’s the action that you take that determines the outcome.” The level of consistency you bring to execution of your tasks or the pursuit of your goals helps you to peak in your performance and can lead you down a path of excellence. Meanwhile your ability to sustain this level of performance hinges heavily on your commitment to continually invest in both your personal and professional development. It is proven that increased competence tends to fuel confidence and collectively these skills position you to shine. Overtime, this degree of consistency causes you to stand out from amongst your peers and can significantly increase both your capacity and your ability to attract new opportunities.
The Power Of A Winning Mindset
We can’t all be great at everything but we can certainly all try to do our best and it is this way of thinking that unlocks a desire to go after perfection. In reality, while there is no such thing as perfection, one can argue that your pursuit of perfection can lead you straight into your version of excellence. This kind of winning mindset influences the way you approach execution of both simple and complex tasks – you simply must be prepared to put in the work to achieve your personal best.
This mindset actually changes your entire outlook towards life. You become rooted in your pursuit of bringing excellence to everything you touch which fundamentally anchors your core values, your ability to show up authentically in your personal interactions and becomes a daily driving force for you to get up and get things done.
Certified Personal and Executive Coach, Valerie Burton suggests that “we should make a decision to run each race with a goal of winning.” This mindset doesn’t take away from the pressures we may face but it certainly keeps us grounded in purpose and can lead to a brand of excellence.
Elevate Your Preparation
Allow me to leave you with three thought-provoking self coaching questions that can help to bring about personal transformation.
How are you positioning yourself to thrive in an environment that is so competitive? Having a winning mindset will ensure that you are never left behind.
What are you prepared to do differently in order to win once you have determined that the race is actually worth running? We must always remember that vision without action becomes a missed opportunity. The power and potential is within you to shape your own destiny.
And finally, ask yourself what do you want to be known for? With the understanding that transformation calls for a mindset shift, you must first accept that any real change starts in the mind. As you pursue your vision for the future and your career aspirations you must accept that the obstacles will come but your greatest test will be how you move to embrace them. It’s time to stop seeing obstacles as barriers to our progress and start seeing them as opportunities to learn, grow and evolve into the best version of ourselves.
Your commitment to building a brand of excellence is what will make the world of difference. And remember, showing up lukewarm is no longer going to cut it! The goal is to strive daily to achieve excellence!
Life Lessons 