Achieving excellence

Excellence in today’s highly competitive workplace demands more than a thorough knowledge of your specialist field. People skills, such as the ability to inspire others, foster a sense of co-operation, and delegate effectively, are of critical importance. Equally vital is the mastery of a range of practical skills – from effective analytical skills to time management – and a confident determined attitude towards your career.

Here are ten actions for achieving excellence:

1. Build key attributes. Human beings have many talents that can be turned into engines of success. Yet the best performance requires more than just talent; it involved developing a number of important strengths, including determination, vision and confidence.

2. Master risk-taking. To make significant gains, you must take risks. Confidence and courage are required, as is the ability to look in all directions before you leap. But those who can learn to think, act and build businesses like entrepreneurs have golden futures.

3. Keep fit. Fitness has many dimensions. It is unfair to yourself to expect peak performance at work when your mind and body are in poor shape. Your lifestyle and the amount of exercise you take will affect both your potential and your achievement.

4. Learn more. You are never too old to learn, and the need for learning increases, rather than decreases, as your career advances and jobs become more complex and important. Time for study may be hard to find, but it always pays off.

5. Improve your memory. A good memory is a great asset, and one that can always be developed. Even the most amazing memory experts rely on acquired techniques to perform their feats. Follow similar approaches, and you will never forget what you need to remember.

6. Use time effectively. Time is your most valuable asset and how well you use it has a key bearing on how you perform. By analysing how you spend your time, you can begin to make changes that will ensure you get the most from your working day.

7. Choose your priorities. Effective time management involves prioritising. You cannot handle all the tasks that come your way at the same time. Working to a list of priorities is vital. It is also important to give priority to developing your expertise in a chosen area of speciality.

8. Reduce your stress. Stress in itself is not harmful, but it can seriously affect those who react badly to it. To improve your effectiveness, you must be able to recognise your limits and take action to reduce stress when it threatens your performance.

9. Find a mentor. Everyone can think of other people who have had a profound influence on their work. Learning from mentors, whose experience is more varied and greater than your own, is a key to improving your performance and achieving success.

10. Plan ahead. People who plan their careers mostly outperform those who leave progress to chance. The natural planning period is the year. By working out a detailed programme and putting it down on paper, you effectively concentrate the mind on what you want to achieve.

William Montgomery
CEO of TEN

Through his workshops, William Montgomery has helped hundreds of organisations and schools plus thousands of people to achieve their potential. To discuss your continuous improvement requirements, please call 0117 325 2010 or send a message to mail@askten.co.uk.