Last December I had the honour to speak at my previous employer’s Business Information Technology end-of-year team event. When asked to speak on a topic that would be an encouragement to the team I immediately thought of the topic, ‘Excellence’. It was not simply about the word 'excellence', as most would understand its meaning, but the crux of the topic would be about having the 'spirit of excellence'.
After the main meal, which was held at a wonderful outdoor setting by Melbourne's Yarra River, we managed to find a space where the team could gather sitting informally to listen to what I had to share.
After the customary welcome and introductions, I asked a rhetorical question, "What does the word excellence mean?" I continued giving my take on the word. Excellence is about being consistent in good character, attitude, quality and standards. It means to be unapologetically exceptional. I added that we all have the potential within us to do great things. We all have the potential to do things better than we have done before, and we all have the potential to change for the better.
As a group of skilled computer technicians, software developers and engineers, I threw out the challenge by suggesting that new work processes will not lead to excellence, nor will technologies like AI or robotics alone lead to excellence. Furthermore, new management styles and practices will not lead to excellence. I proposed that the spirit of excellence is within each of us. I added that the spirit of excellence is of our own choosing. We can either change and accept it or we can choose to ignore it and accept the status quo.
Being a person of excellence is a continuous process. There is a difference, however, between being a perfectionist and being a person of excellence. A perfectionist is one who wants to get it right all the time, which is impossible to achieve, whilst a person of excellence takes pride in their work. A person of excellence is not afraid to make mistakes but is self-aware and humble enough to identify them. A person of excellence always aims to make a conscious effort to correct their mistakes which is achievable. "To have a spirit of excellence gives you the courage to accept large and small tasks and also strive to learn from our mistakes," said British author and poet Euginia Herlihy.
Why is it important to be a person of excellence? Well as a professional, if you want to succeed in your career, you need to master the art of excellence. In a world where conformity is the easy route and adopting the status quo is the easy option, it can be challenging in today’s homogenous society to demonstrate a spirit of excellence.
Indeed, the price for real success today is for men and women who are prepared to stand out from the crowd. It requires being different even if your work goes unnoticed or not commended. As cited by 20th century American clergyman Aiden Wilson Tozer, "As the excellence of steel is strength, and the excellence of art is beauty, so the excellence of mankind is moral character." The question for us is what character are we displaying? You will be taken for granted, unappreciated, overlooked or even mistreated for standing out, but your worth cannot be tied to the appraisal of people. It’s easier to compromise and be like everyone but copycats have a shorter shelf life. This means that being excellent is not convenient but necessary if you want to succeed either in a career or in life. Being a person of excellence is not determined by people's response towards you. You alone determine it!
However, there is a difference between being excellent in one area of your life and being a person of excellence. I can be an excellent software engineer. I can be an excellent entrepreneur, or I can be an excellent tour operator. But none of those things will on its own make me an excellent person.
If I am a person of excellence, it means that I make conscious efforts to be successful in every area of my life. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that I am perfect. We are all human beings. We are, by definition, imperfect creatures. Regardless, we should be striving for excellence in everything that we do. "The quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence", said Tom Landry.
A person of excellence is consistent in one's personal, social, and career life. If you are dishonest, greedy, lazy, untidy, disrespectful or selfish it will reflect or can affect your career and life. Specifically in your dealings with superiors, peers and even your customers and people. One may say it’s easy to pretend at work but once a particular stimulus is triggered, your subconscious will take effect, and you are likely to fall back to your default behaviours. Practice makes permanent. Consistent habits form character. Look at the happenings in the lives of some celebrities. One area of their lives which is meant to be private has changed the course of their destinies. If I am a great musician, actor, or sportsperson why is that not enough to keep me successful if I have personal bad habits or lifestyle?
If your behaviour is poor in health, social or family life, chances are that you will have a lapse in your career life. Essentially, you can succeed in one area of your life and be miserable at the same time. Why? Because it isn’t enough to succeed in just one discrete area of your life. To put it clearly you can have a successful career, but if you are in a miserable marriage relationship you will be unhappy which can affect your career.
Similarly, you can have a great family life, but if you don’t have your own area of accomplishment, your self-esteem may suffer. And if you are low on self-esteem, your performance at work may not be impressive. It goes without saying that if you are happy in your personal life, you will most likely be happy at work. That is why the only way to achieve true success and happiness is to demand excellence from yourself in all areas of your life. If you are excellent when no one is looking, you will be excellent in your dealings of life.
What are the qualities of a person of excellence. In a 2019 LinkedIn article by Emmaline Datey, she lists the qualities of a person of excellence. The list includes:
They add value to themselves and others.
They go the extra mile in all endeavours.
They think of consequences before taking any action.
They don't tolerate or encourage mediocrity or hypocrisy.
They are not satisfied with average.
They pay attention to details.
They work to earn respect and merit.
They seek to always make a difference in people’s lives.
They are consistent in good behaviour, manners and attitude towards people and responsibilities.
They stand out everywhere they go. They don't fit in with the crowd.
They are a positive influencer, a sensitive or empathetic individual and an excellent communicator.
They lift others because they know that they rise when others are lifted.
They are not insecure.
Remember, excellence is not a skill, it’s an attitude.
If it is not a skill that has to be acquired, why then don't we all have the spirit of excellence in the things we do? Why have many people lost that spirit of excellence? Here are three simple reasons why this may be the case.
Selfishness - When you only care about yourself - you are unlikely to care about doing things with excellence. From one aspect, if you’re not being paid (or paid enough) or there’s nothing “in it” for you - you most likely will not care about doing things with excellence. From another lens, if financial reward in your sole driver, then the pursuit of excellence for your whole of life may be jeopardised. Refer to my earlier remarks.
Laziness - If we have a spirit of laziness we lose our spirit of excellence. Proverbs 13:4 speaks of laziness, saying "The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich."
Disinterest - If it’s a task you are not passionate about or don’t want to do, you usually won’t do it with excellence. We need to treat every task as a desired task. Even if it’s not your favourite task treat it like it is! If you’re going to do something, do it right!
What can we learn from this quote from an unknown source which says, "Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible."
As leaders of business and of teams, or if you are a leader in whatever sphere of influence you have, don't half do anything and don’t ever settle for just 'good enough'. Good is the enemy of great. Great despises good! We don’t want to be good we want to be 'great!' Therefore, strive for greatness through the spirit of excellence. Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great wrote, "Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline."
Great leaders have a spirit of excellence. Excellence should be part of the organisational culture. Every leader needs to expect excellence. However, you can't expect excellence if you do not model excellence. Excellence must be modelled. Indian businessman and philanthropist, Azim Premji was quoted as saying, “Excellence endures and sustains. It goes beyond motivation into the realms of inspiration.”
Leaders seek to serve rather than seek to be served. Great leaders embody excellence, and they expect excellence. The spirit of excellence makes us exceptional.
A postscript to this essay. Recently my family and I returned from a family holiday in Sri Lanka. It was a wonderful experience which was made more pleasurable by the level of detail and the value add that our local agent Nazla had provided. Not only did she make sure that every hotel on our itinerary was prepared for our arrival, but she had also gone the extra mile to ensure that we had a good time and that arrangements were to our satisfaction. Her input to our family holiday was impactful. While some travel agents may have closed the deal when bookings were made, and payments received, Nazla enquired from us at each major stage of our trip to ensure that our evaluation was not simply good but was indeed above average and excellent.
Pride in one's work is a clear sign of one's pursuit of excellence.
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