Communities of Excellence

One of the foundations of promoting an Excellence Agenda is recognizing the need to foster Communities of Excellence.  I will define Communities of Excellence in greater detail in later postings to the blog - but let me give you an example of a Community of Excellence in action.

Last weekend was the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  As the airways over North America closed, transatlantic flights were redirected to smaller centres on the East Coast of Canada.   I was pleased to hear interviews with the Mayor of Gander, Newfoundland on how their community of 10,000 responded to the 6600 guests they had sent to them. Given only a few hours notice, the Mayor appealed to the community for help, everything was needed; bed clothes and linens, food for the emergency shelters, volunteers to help greet and register the guests, set up for telephones and email.  It was a monumental task, but this community came together and made it happen.  They even hosted a good-bye party for the guests before they left.

In interviews with some of the guests, who returned for the 10th anniversary gathering, they talked about the hospitality, the warmth and generosity.  They talked of making lifelong friendships.  Gander is now twinned with other communities because of what they did that day.  The Mayor talked about how important it was to make sure that the right people were put in the right volunteer places to make sure that it all worked. Everyone pitched in with their unique abilities and their own contribution to creating a Community of Excellence.

I lived through the Ice Storm of January 2008.  From that experience, I learned how resilient and adaptable communities really are.  How communities can actively learn from each other, share information and ensure that everyone gets taken care of.  In my work in community consultation and engagement, I have always marvelled at the level of talent, creativity and innovation there exists wherever I go.  The same goes for the organizations and businesses I have worked with.  People want to be associated with a Community of Excellence.  The challenge for leaders at all levels is to help create environments in which people feel that they are a part of a Community of Excellence.

Today, look at the communities that you belong to.  Which ones do you feel a sense of excellence and connection to?  Why is that, and what have you done to contribute to the sense of excellence?

Excellence is all around us - we just need to stop for a moment and see it for what it really is.