For me, progress and potential are two very different things and will be measured by us all in our own unique way. I was fortunate to represent Scotland in rugby union on many occasions and this experience has been invaluable in my development as an executive coach, enabling me to draw the parallels between high performance sport and business, so it is in the sports world that I will start today.
As part of Scottish rugby’s commitment to celebrating the pioneers of women’s rugby and the heritage of the game, they recently published a roll of honour; essentially a chronological list of all those to have represented Scotland. I am #45, which gives away my age somewhat!
It is a huge honour to play for your country and it’s wonderful to have been recognised in this way. And it got me thinking about reaching my potential? To be honest, I don’t think I did. If I knew then what I know now, often springs to mind! What if I had done more of x and less of y?
The challenge about international competition is that it is generally a much shorter time frame than our business career, so the opportunity to go back and replay it is limited – you often hear players saying ‘you are a long time retired’ as they pull on their kit for another weekend in the elements of a Scottish winter.
Professionally, I have spent the majority of my career in sports development, working from grass roots to performance sport, which ignited my passion for self-improvement and supporting individuals to achieve their full potential. The areas I found most rewarding were supporting individuals to improve their own personal performance which naturally progressed into executive coaching.
In order for you to fulfil your unique potential and dreams, you need to develop a sense of who you are and what you want. A great starting point would be to explore the following three steps:
- Get clear on your why – what are your drivers? Nothing increases motivation more than alignment with our why.
- Continual improvement – embrace your development with a growth mindset, set personal goals not just a task list!
- Take steps, move forward – “The secret of getting ahead is getting started” ~ Mark Twain, making progress with clear direction will inevitably support us to reach our potential.
“Fear and self-doubt have always been the greatest enemies of human potential”
– Brian Tracy
This quote really resonates with me and is why I took the leap into running my own business. Not only did I feel that I had untapped potential personally, I also truly believe I can support my clients to reach their potential in work and life.
If you are interested in hearing about my approach or working with me, please get in touch.
Contact me on beth@bespokeconsulting.org or check out my partner coach profile page.
November 2, 2022
