Delivering excellence is multi-faceted. It takes both attitude and action. It is no good to simply think about delivering excellence without actually doing it. Equally, if the attitude toward excellence is indifferent, the likelihood of it being delivered is low.
It is driven by an attitude to always do more; seek answers, knowledge and understanding, develop yourself personally and professionally. It means doing things that are not expected of you, and doing them exceptionally well. There is a requirement to draw on our value of conscious choice
When we perform our tasks each day, doing so from CONSCIOUS CHOICE helps us to deliver excellence. For example: we don’t ‘have‘ to do things that are not expected of us. If we do, what it highlights is that we are doing so out of a desire to be of service and for that experience to really stand apart.
Excellence also requires constant IMPROVEMENT & GROWTH. Our profession is very dynamic, both in relation to client situations and the technical aspect of our work. Therefore, continual learning and development is imperative to maintaining excellence.
Seek a deeper understanding of what you are told; by clients, peers, suppliers and partners when they pass on information, make a request or explain something. Take pause when you are told something to check if you really have the answer you were seeking, or if you are able to ‘teach’ to others what you have just been told (which really tests one’s understanding).
Finally, being CONSISTENT is a key element of delivering excellence. To highlight the point, it’s worth noting that inconsistency is difficult to rely on and trust. We are in the position of stewardship of our clients’ life savings, so being reliable and trustable is fundamental.
This means being respectful to yourself, to other’s opinions, beliefs and views, and to all in our team. Be mindful of what you are communicating, both verbally and non-verbally, and the impact it has on those around you.
If you’re feeling upset about something, it’s healthy to vent. Make sure you are always directing your venting about the problem, not the person. Slander is not ok.
Judging is not our role and closes us off to understanding what someone else is going through or what their reality is. Practice ‘non-judgement’ and speak up if you feel you are judging – people respect the ability to self observe (e.g. say “I can see that I’m behaving judgementally right now and that’s not what I’m here to do”).
Being respectful can also include speaking as if you have been injected with ‘truth serum’. That is, if you are not willing to speak your truth, are you being disrespectful to yourself or who you are communicating with?
Acting with honour means to do what you say you will do. Our clients put an enormous degree of trust in us and include us in almost every aspect of their lives. We expect our clients to make a commitment to us and it is unreasonable to expect them to do that if we are not delivering on our promise to them.
If a commitment is made, keep it. Therefore, consider the timeframes and agreements that are made with your colleagues and our clients.
A part of this is to honour yourself first. If you set goals, keep them. If you say you will be somewhere at a certain time, take the required action to do that.
Being proud of what we do and the way we do it is a great measure of this value.
The world is filled with notions of ‘no choice’. We are taught, and teach, from a very young age, that we have no choice in a matter, that we ‘have to’ do something.
No choice appears in our language, with some great examples being:
- Have to;
- Need to;
- Should;
- Gotta;
- Must.
Example: “You need to get that done by the end of the day today”
The truth for us is that you don’t have to get that task done at all, let alone by 5pm today. If you don’t there will be consequences, and still the truth remains that you don’t have to.
In the context of our work, a useful example is “you have to have a Will in place”. Human beings have been dying for a very long time without a Will, so the evidence is staked against the above statement. The consequence of dying without a Will, which is a totally different topic, depends on the person’s situation.
Part of the problem with this is that a strong aversion to separating action from consequence has developed in our psyche.
We have observed that shifting oneself to a position of consciously choosing has profoundly positive results. It is not about the use of language such as the examples above, it is about understanding the effect of being in a place of choice, versus being in a place of no-choice.
Consider the notion of effect in the context of these relationships:
- You to Yourself;
- You to Other(s);
- Other(s) to you.
This topic is a very important one for us to perform our role professionally. Decisions are far stronger when made from a place of conscious choice and recognition that there is no ‘have to’. There is also the removal of blame and resentment, as we can always bring the discussion back to a shared reality of responsibility for choices made and action taken – nobody makes us do anything.
We believe life is supposed to be fun. Our work and work environment is not separate from this belief.
Our aim is to enjoy what we do, how we do it and who we do it with.
If there are too many days in a row when you feel you are not enjoying your work or having fun, make a change. Talk with a peer and look for ways to make things fun.
Maintaining BALANCE is a great place to start. We fully expect there will be imbalances – periods of higher workload, pressure and intensity. Remember, we are all choosing to be part of it, and there is always a choice to be somewhere else.
Counteract the imbalances with activities that are fun and bring back balance. That means inspecting when there is the inevitable imbalance and doing something about it.
Since its founding in 1979, our business has been built on the community of clients who have referred their family, friends and colleagues to us. We have fostered this through the development of relationships and understanding what is important to those groups, so we can best be of service with a win-win mentality.
Our intention is to create a sense of belonging, for us and our clients. Building community has the benefit of self-perpetuating comfort, trust and security, because of the requirement to maintain a standard of behaviour toward those within the community. This completely aligns with our other values.
Another part of this value relates to the contribution we make to improving the profile of our profession in the wider community. Unfortunately, there are those who do treat people poorly and, the reputation of the Financial Adviser is not positive (overall). With every interaction, we have the opportunity to positively impact this profile by living our values.
Of course, the community centres around us as a team. Strong relationships and a positive environment allow us to build community from a solid foundation.
- Deliver Excellence
-
Delivering excellence is multi-faceted. It takes both attitude and action. It is no good to simply think about delivering excellence without actually doing it. Equally, if the attitude toward excellence is indifferent, the likelihood of it being delivered is low.
It is driven by an attitude to always do more; seek answers, knowledge and understanding, develop yourself personally and professionally. It means doing things that are not expected of you, and doing them exceptionally well. There is a requirement to draw on our value of conscious choice
When we perform our tasks each day, doing so from CONSCIOUS CHOICE helps us to deliver excellence. For example: we don’t ‘have‘ to do things that are not expected of us. If we do, what it highlights is that we are doing so out of a desire to be of service and for that experience to really stand apart.
Excellence also requires constant IMPROVEMENT & GROWTH. Our profession is very dynamic, both in relation to client situations and the technical aspect of our work. Therefore, continual learning and development is imperative to maintaining excellence.
Seek a deeper understanding of what you are told; by clients, peers, suppliers and partners when they pass on information, make a request or explain something. Take pause when you are told something to check if you really have the answer you were seeking, or if you are able to ‘teach’ to others what you have just been told (which really tests one’s understanding).
Finally, being CONSISTENT is a key element of delivering excellence. To highlight the point, it’s worth noting that inconsistency is difficult to rely on and trust. We are in the position of stewardship of our clients’ life savings, so being reliable and trustable is fundamental.
- Be Respectful
-
This means being respectful to yourself, to other’s opinions, beliefs and views, and to all in our team. Be mindful of what you are communicating, both verbally and non-verbally, and the impact it has on those around you.
If you’re feeling upset about something, it’s healthy to vent. Make sure you are always directing your venting about the problem, not the person. Slander is not ok.
Judging is not our role and closes us off to understanding what someone else is going through or what their reality is. Practice ‘non-judgement’ and speak up if you feel you are judging – people respect the ability to self observe (e.g. say “I can see that I’m behaving judgementally right now and that’s not what I’m here to do”).
Being respectful can also include speaking as if you have been injected with ‘truth serum’. That is, if you are not willing to speak your truth, are you being disrespectful to yourself or who you are communicating with?
- Act With Honour
-
Acting with honour means to do what you say you will do. Our clients put an enormous degree of trust in us and include us in almost every aspect of their lives. We expect our clients to make a commitment to us and it is unreasonable to expect them to do that if we are not delivering on our promise to them.
If a commitment is made, keep it. Therefore, consider the timeframes and agreements that are made with your colleagues and our clients.
A part of this is to honour yourself first. If you set goals, keep them. If you say you will be somewhere at a certain time, take the required action to do that.
Being proud of what we do and the way we do it is a great measure of this value.
- Choose Consciously
-
The world is filled with notions of ‘no choice’. We are taught, and teach, from a very young age, that we have no choice in a matter, that we ‘have to’ do something.
No choice appears in our language, with some great examples being:
- Have to;
- Need to;
- Should;
- Gotta;
- Must.
Example: “You need to get that done by the end of the day today”
The truth for us is that you don’t have to get that task done at all, let alone by 5pm today. If you don’t there will be consequences, and still the truth remains that you don’t have to.
In the context of our work, a useful example is “you have to have a Will in place”. Human beings have been dying for a very long time without a Will, so the evidence is staked against the above statement. The consequence of dying without a Will, which is a totally different topic, depends on the person’s situation.
Part of the problem with this is that a strong aversion to separating action from consequence has developed in our psyche.
We have observed that shifting oneself to a position of consciously choosing has profoundly positive results. It is not about the use of language such as the examples above, it is about understanding the effect of being in a place of choice, versus being in a place of no-choice.
Consider the notion of effect in the context of these relationships:
- You to Yourself;
- You to Other(s);
- Other(s) to you.
This topic is a very important one for us to perform our role professionally. Decisions are far stronger when made from a place of conscious choice and recognition that there is no ‘have to’. There is also the removal of blame and resentment, as we can always bring the discussion back to a shared reality of responsibility for choices made and action taken – nobody makes us do anything.
- Have Fun
-
We believe life is supposed to be fun. Our work and work environment is not separate from this belief.
Our aim is to enjoy what we do, how we do it and who we do it with.
If there are too many days in a row when you feel you are not enjoying your work or having fun, make a change. Talk with a peer and look for ways to make things fun.
Maintaining BALANCE is a great place to start. We fully expect there will be imbalances – periods of higher workload, pressure and intensity. Remember, we are all choosing to be part of it, and there is always a choice to be somewhere else.
Counteract the imbalances with activities that are fun and bring back balance. That means inspecting when there is the inevitable imbalance and doing something about it.
- Build Community
-
Since its founding in 1979, our business has been built on the community of clients who have referred their family, friends and colleagues to us. We have fostered this through the development of relationships and understanding what is important to those groups, so we can best be of service with a win-win mentality.
Our intention is to create a sense of belonging, for us and our clients. Building community has the benefit of self-perpetuating comfort, trust and security, because of the requirement to maintain a standard of behaviour toward those within the community. This completely aligns with our other values.
Another part of this value relates to the contribution we make to improving the profile of our profession in the wider community. Unfortunately, there are those who do treat people poorly and, the reputation of the Financial Adviser is not positive (overall). With every interaction, we have the opportunity to positively impact this profile by living our values.
Of course, the community centres around us as a team. Strong relationships and a positive environment allow us to build community from a solid foundation.
With a highly experienced yet youthful team, our objective is to build on our 40-year heritage by continuing to advise and support our clients and their families long into the future.
So – what is a rich life for you?
