Are you inspiring excellence

Strive always for excellence – this is the advice given to many, by their parents, teachers, pastors, mentors, bosses and those persons in our lives who generally desire the best for us. When we commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence, we set ourselves on a path towards a higher state of achievement on both a personal and professional level. An attitude of excellence inspires us make better decisions, behave more ethically, and spend our time more effectively.{{more}}

Excellence is the key which unlocks our own successes. It helps us set ourselves apart from the overwhelming majority of mediocrity. As an excellence advocate, one of our responsibilities is to, not only demonstrate excellence in our own lives, but also and possibly, most importantly, to inspire excellence in other people – especially those we interact with regularly. As we pursue excellence, we foster within ourselves a deep sense of satisfaction about the work we would have done. The quality of our lives improves because now, we have a standard against which all our actions are mirrored and challenged. Those around us may at times feel intimidated by our quality, but in time they become grateful for the impetus we would have provided.

Are you ready to become an excellence mentor? Well, here are a few tips that will help you on your way.

¢ Walk the talk – Before you can expect others to be excellent, you have to be excellent yourself. Leading by example in an honourable and ethical manner is one of the best ways enhance productivity. As a general rule, persons will feel more disposed to giving you their best if they see you doing the same.

¢ Communicate expectations – Never assume everyone knows how to be excellent on their own. After all, everyone has his or her own interpretation of excellence. Remind persons that excellence is the quality of being outstanding or extremely good. It does not mean always having the resources, but it means doing the best with what you have to achieve the goal at hand.

¢ Aim high – Don’t be afraid to set high the bar high when it comes to morals and values. Believe it or not, people want to follow great leaders. Not only will excellence give people something to strive for, but it will also send a message that you expect everyone’s best.

¢ Have genuine respect for the people you seek to influence – Most people respond better to people they feel respect them. In return, they will have genuine respect for you as well, and in doing so, will be much more inclined to give 110 per cent effort.

¢ Give recognition – One of the best ways to inspire excellence is to reward and recognize it. Recognition is a great motivator; so when you “catch” someone doing a great job or going above and beyond the norm, draw attention to it. He/she will not only be inspired to repeat the behaviour that got him/her recognized, but others will be inspired to do so as well.

¢ Encourage big dreaming – Never, ever, limit your dreams, or the dreams of others. When you encourage other peoples’ dreams, you are saying “I believe in you.” In essence, you are letting them know that you think they are fully capable of achieving whatever they set out to do. Imagine how empowering that is to someone who looks up to you!

¢ Empower out-of-the-box thinking – Along the same lines, when you encourage creativity and initiative in people, something magical begins to happen they become happier and more productive. Everyone is capable of creative thinking on some level, and when you encourage people to tap into that part of themselves, it releases achievement. Inspiring excellence in other people is a noble calling and one that can enrich your life, and those who choose to follow you.

A major misconception which causes many to believe excellence is unattainable is the thought that excellence means perfection. The concepts of excellence and perfection are not only different, but can be considered antagonistic to each other. In fact, these concepts are so opposed to each other that excellence can best be attained by giving up the demands of perfection.

Perfectionism is the individual’s belief that he or she must be perfect to be acceptable. Perfectionism is black and white with no gray area. Anything other than perfect is failure. Perfectionism is an attitude, not necessarily a behaviour. While on the other hand, pursuing excellence may require tremendous effort and focus, as well as other resources. But, unlike perfectionism, it does not demand a sacrifice of self-esteem, as it tends to focus on the process of achievement rather than the outcome.

o Perfectionists can be devastated by failure; pursuers of excellence learn from it.

o Perfectionists remember mistakes and dwell on them. Pursuers of excellence correct mistakes and learn from them.

o Perfectionists want to be number one. Pursuers of excellence can live with not being the best, especially when they know they’ve tried their hardest.

o Perfectionists hate criticism; pursuers of excellence see criticism as a way to learn.

o Perfectionists have to win to keep high self-esteem. Pursuers of excellence can finish second and still feel good about themselves.

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”Vince Lombardi

Prepared by

Dr Jozelle Miller

Health Psychologist

Milton Cato Memorial Hospital