I can’t say I love long drives, but they’ve become my classroom - time to listen to a podcast and arrive with a new perspective. Recently, I listened to Emma Grede in conversation with Mel Robbins. Emma is the founding partner of SKIMS, co-founder and CEO of Good American, host of @aspirewithemmagrede - and a mum of four (no imposter syndrome here).
The interview held my attention for the entire 1 hour and 26 minutes, which is rare. And although there was so much that stood out for me, if I had to choose one idea, it would be this: “Be excellent at where you are, at whatever you are doing, because that has some kind of invisible magnetic pull.”
Excellence.
But what does excellence mean? Like all words, it means different things to different people. It’s easy to imagine excellence belonging to the big milestones in your life - a promotion, getting married, buying a house. But what if it’s less of a headline and more of a few words hidden in the back pages?
What if it’s as simple as the way you make your coffee, write an email, or speak to yourself when you’re on your own? As a journalist, I’ve listened to some extraordinary people tell me that their greatest breakthroughs didn’t come from polished perfection, but from the moments they were knee-deep in difficulty, scrambling to find a way forward, when they kept going, clinging to curiosity and courage, despite having no idea when or where they would resurface.
Pursue Yourself First
Who do you spend more time with than anyone else? You. It’s something we easily overlook, but the only person who will always be by your side is you, so you might as well enjoy the company.
In business, especially for women, it’s tempting to measure success against external markers, such as turnover, recognition, and productivity. But above all of it is the inner story we tell ourselves. Too often, it’s a story of criticism.
What if excellence included how we speak to ourselves? What if, when something goes wrong, we responded as we would to a close friend, with kindness and encouragement rather than judgment?
Excellence, in this sense, isn’t about performance. It’s about self-trust. And from that foundation, everything else follows.
Direction of Travel
Something else Emma shared was this: “If you don’t know if you’re going in the right direction, then just go. At least you’re moving.”
I hear this dilemma a lot in my work with leaders and entrepreneurs: “What if I get it wrong? What if this isn’t the right path?”
But there rarely is a wrong or a right path. If you choose to look at it that way, you will only ever arrive if you begin. You only find clarity once you’re moving. Even the wrong turns add to your story - the lessons, the resilience, the connections that shape the next stage. As Emma put it: “Everything you want is already there, it just has to find you working.”
The Magnetic Pull of Excellence
The paradox is that the more you focus on doing the small things well, the more opportunities begin to open up.
I saw this in the BBC newsroom. The interviews that made the biggest impact weren’t always with the most famous names, but the moments when I listened closely, asked the unexpected question, and was gifted with a nugget of gold. Excellence, in that sense, wasn’t about bigger. It was about paying attention to the little things.
And it wasn’t optional. In journalism, striving for excellence was also an ethical responsibility. It wasn’t about polish for its own sake, but about truth and respect for the audience. The same applies in business. Excellence is how you honour the people you serve. It’s not about perfection or performance - it’s about doing the work with care so others can trust you.
For Women in Business
For women leading businesses or building careers, excellence can feel like another impossible standard. But this isn’t about pressure. It’s about reframing excellence as something human and attainable.
It’s about:
• Starting where you are.
• Speaking to yourself with the kindness you extend to others.
• Moving, even without a perfect plan.
• Choosing excellence in today’s small actions.
Those repeated acts build the confidence and momentum that attract the next opportunity.
The Story You Tell Yourself
At its heart, this comes back to story – my favourite thing. What you tell yourself about where you are and where you’re going matters.
When I work with clients on their brand narrative or personal story, I often ask: “What’s the story you’re telling yourself right now?” Because if that story is full of doubt and self-criticism, everything feels harder. But if it’s built on trust and a commitment to small acts of excellence, momentum begins to build.
A Question to Take Away
So, the question I’ve been asking myself since hearing Emma Grede’s words is: ‘What would excellence look like for me today, right where I am?’
For me, it can be as ordinary as making my bed. Sometimes it’s finishing the email I have kept in my drafts all week. And sometimes… (more than sometimes) it’s listening with my full attention.
Don’t wait to be excellent. Be excellent now, in your own way. Because as Emma says, “how you do anything is how you do everything. Excellence isn’t the endpoint. It’s the practice that shapes the story you’re writing - one choice at a time.
