With Your Potential? Only the Best!

I am currently reading Tough Choices, a memoir by Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Carly has had a tremendous career, holding significant leadership positions at global corporations including AT&T and Lucent. In her memoir Carly states, "I experienced first-hand the power of high expectations: had less been demanded, less would have been achieved." When I look back at my life so far, I too can see the impact of high expectations...

I grew up in a very supportive home, with parents who taught me to want the best for myself and encouraged me to be a high achiever. The pursuit of excellence became automatic for me early on in childhood. When taking the Common Entrance exam to determine my placement in high school, I identified the top two secondary institutions on the island as my preferred schools. I was successful and attended Immaculate High School for girls. A few years later, when it came time to think about colleges, I applied to and received a scholarship for an elite all women's college in the U.S. - Smith College.

During my high school and college years, I came to appreciate the positive impact of a go-getter peer group. Interacting with talented women who had aggressive career goals, further motivated me to set similar challenging targets for myself. We were all expected to use our talents to deliver big results.

After college, I joined a prestigious global management consulting firm and started what has been an extremely rewarding and successful career in consulting. A large part of my success has been due to the expectations set by excellent mentors, demanding managers and talented colleagues.

Having seen the wonders of high expectations in my own life, I feel the need to share this gift with people around me. It has been very rewarding to see the impact of simple acts such as

• asking about and being genuinely interested in someone's goals
• sharing words of encouragement based on the potential you see (and sometimes they may not)
• brainstorming to identify steps necessary to achieve targets
• checking progress against agreed upon milestones
• celebrating any positive momentum towards realizing stated goals

During these interactions with others, I relay the same message that has been ingrained in me since youth: With your potential? Only the best!