Excellence 101

I remember back in primary school, when you scored a hundred percent in a test, the teacher would write ‘Excellent’. In that context, it meant you had given your all. I don’t know what comes to your mind now when you hear the word excellence; to some it means doing things so well to the best of their ability and to others it may mean giving their A game or simply put; putting their best foot forward.

Excellence is a virtue I have come to appreciate and value over time. Last Friday, I had an opportunity, thanks to Lapid Leaders Africa, to attend the Women In Business forum by Jacobs Well, at Serena Hotel – Nairobi. As we entered the venue all I could see was how elegant the place looked, from the reception area to the hall where the event took place. The ambiance of the entire place was magical, the feeling I got was that of a change-maker walking down the aisle to have interesting conversations with other great change-makers in the history of mankind and indeed I was in for a treat, not to mention women dressed in black and gold, which were the theme colours of the event, black to symbolize of our African heritage and gold to symbolize wealth.

The conversation kicked off with Pst. Angie Murenga, CEO of Kingdom Business Solutions, shedding light on the ‘I choose to challenge’ theme of this year International Womens’ Day Celebrations. Her take was about generational impact. She spoke on what holds us back from progressing which I have summarized below:

1. Rejection: Real or Imagined; we must develop resilience and a thick skin. First ask, ‘Why am I getting the rejection?‘ What is being rejected? Sometimes it could be rejection because of your principles and that’s a good thing. Ask, ‘How do I get back on track?‘ Having a pity party won’t help you overcome the rejection, you have to keep moving.
2. Bringing a part of you to the table: You were made perfect and whole, so show up with your all. Don’t limit yourself to what people expect of you or what people deem acceptable. Come to the table with all of you.
3. Lack of action or movement: Nobody wants to be part of a stationary thing. The only way to get something done is to do it and keep doing it to build traction and keep moving.
4. Status Quo/ Not Rocking the boat: Being comfortable with societal ways of doing things isn’t going to get you anywhere beyond what already exists. If you want outcomes to be different, then it’s time to rock the boat.
5. Fear of failure: Real or imagined. You’ve got to have the courage to pursue your dreams, or else you will live wondering how things could have turned out. If you fail; redefine it! See that failure as a lesson and make it a stepping stone in your journey of greatness.
6. Not Understanding the shifting of seasons: Understand that what got you here will not get you there. Different seasons call for different strategies. The question then becomes, ‘what do I need to adjust to flow in the current season am in?’

The session was then crowned by the keynote speaker of the night, Dr. Tina Allton; The President and founder of Nations of Women. She emphasized on the power of wisdom and the importance of networking; which is cultivating productive relationships for growth. She broke the networking aspect down to the companies of people to avoid and those you should keep. The companies of people you should avoid include:

• Those who bite the hands that feed them
• The swindlers
• Those who are jealous of their leaders
• Those who mismanage opportunities given to them
• Those who expose other people’s nakedness
• Those who want their father’s/leaders’ throne
• Those who encourage betrayal.

The company you should endeavor to keep should include:

• The faithful
• People with a heart of service
• Those who understand the role of Fathers
• Those who have gone ahead of you
• People who pray

She summed up the session by encouraging us to understand and be rooted in our identity, be intentional about growth, serve others and most importantly, be consistent because it surely has a compounding interest.

To sum up, my biggest take-away was to bring all of me to spaces and not just what seems acceptable, that’s the only way I will be able to channel out excellence. Aristotle once said: Excellence is not just an act but a habit and I add that excellence is an outcome not the starting point.

This post was written by Lim Hazel from Lapid Leaders.

See the original post here.