By Mary-Anne Adelasoye

Last Tuesday (Tuesday 30 October), Capco’s #BYAW network hosted an event for colleagues and guests to commemorate UK Black History Month.

#BYAW - Be Yourself at Work – is one of Capco’s many global initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This year, our London office hosted an insightful evening featuring a panel of inspirational BAME executives within financial services. These industry leaders shared their experiences of discrimination in the workplace and how they had overcome them through adopting excellence as a habit.

But how can excellence be defined as a strategy to overcome prejudice? As questions around this theme were posed to the panel, three themes consistently featured in their advice:

• Going above and beyond 
• Pride and consistency with your personal brand
• Persistence.

Here’s what they said.

GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND

Within her 14 years of industry experience, Amaka Ogbonnah, a director at Amneo Wealth Management, shared how she had overcome discrimination by reflecting how her work speaks for itself.  Her advice: “when opportunities arise throughout your career, grab them - every instance is an opportunity to shatter preconceptions.”

Cecil Edwards, managing director at Rise Consulting, highlighted the importance of formal career guidance. He said: “A sponsor, mentor, and career coach are all different. Know which one you need at different stages in your life. A sponsor is different from a mentor because a sponsor can open doors which may not usually be available to you. Find that sponsor who is willing to put their job on the line to open the door for you because they believe in you.”

PRIDE AND CONSISTENCY WITH YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

For Simon Cook, an executive director at Capco in capital markets, excellence means “delivering what you say you will”, as this is what cements a personal brand, and what can propel an individual throughout their career.

Viva Okpaluba, a director at Castle Trust affirmed this. “Ensure your brand is trustworthy and consistent, and that you know your stuff,” she said.  

PERSISTENCE

"Getting the job done is part of building your personal brand,” said Simon Cook. He also recommended to “set your goals and outcomes, and refine them every six months” and that “If your goals are not achieved, refine them and persevere."

He added: “Stereotypes can be overcome by knowing yourself, being proud of your unique selling points, and tenaciously and persistently delivering…...preconceptions stop being an issue when you’re reliable in your excellence.”

The panel were unanimous that adopting a habit of excellence was not about seeking perfection, but a behavior based on persistence. Closing the evening, writer Nego True performed a spoken word piece which affirmed this message beautifully:

"Practice doesn’t make perfect, but seeing what you think is perfect keeps you practicing." 

I deduced from that while perfection is aspirational, one needs to be capable of persevering, even when things do not go as planned.

Before the panel session ended and we all came together for some delicious African and Caribbean cuisine, I left with these three key pearls of wisdom:

• When you’re in a meeting, be present and add value by being clear, concise and correct; 
• What legacy are you leaving? This should direct your approach within any area of your work;
• Don’t aim for perfection, but aim for excellence.