Last week saw the epic Angelica Hale win hearts around the globe in the finale of the 12th season of America’s Got Talent. Her impressive vocals and happy demeanor won the 10-year-old Filipino-American singer a legion of fans as she came second in the talent contest finals, belting out ‘Symphony’ by Clean Bandit to rapturous applause.
The young songstress has had her fair share of battles and challenges to overcome to get this far. Besides wowing audiences with her singing skills, here are four lessons we can learn from Angelica to improve our performance in the workplace (if not on stage).
1. Dedication
Angelica didn’t ace the America’s Got Talent auditions by chance. It took determination to dedicate herself to perfecting the craft. The singer demonstrated her fighter instinct early on. At just 4-years-old she contracted double pneumonia, leading to kidney failure. She spent several months in hospital as a result, saved only by a kidney transplant from her mother. Just a few months after her recovery, Angelica started singing lessons.
Making it in your chosen career isn’t easy, either. Take inspiration from Angelica’s journey – apply perseverance and resilience to keep going when things get tough and achieve your workplace goals.
2. Don’t be afraid of hard work
Not all our aspirations are as big as Angelica’s (she told the judges she wants to be the next Whitney Houston). But whatever your ultimate aim, it takes practice – and more practice – to get there. Her success comes on the back of years of lessons, coaching and rehearsals.
Perhaps the best advice is from the girl herself. In an interview with entertainment site AXS, Angelica said: “I want to tell [others] to always believe in themselves and believe that they can do this. Because, if you work hard, prepare yourself, believe in yourself and have confidence, you will be surprised at how far you can make it.”
3. Be gracious
The runner-up in the talent contest showed what it means to be gracious even when you don’t come first. The tense build-up to the results announcement saw Angelica start to cry from the pressure. Yet on hearing the result (the winner was 12-year-old ventriloquist Darci Lynne), she pulled herself together and congratulated her fellow contestant warmly.
Such humble and mature behavior will take you far in the workplace. Remember to respect your colleagues’ achievements – even if they win a project or get promoted before you, congratulate them and use it as a reminder to work harder next time. That attitude will make you a winner in any case.
4. It takes a team
Angelica didn’t get all the way to the finals of a fiercely competitive – and prominent – contest on her own. Getting the songs, costumes and logistics right required effort from a whole team of people, including her mum and dad.
Learn from Angelica’s experience and make sure that at work you, too, are a team player – chipping in when workloads could overwhelm one person and acknowledging other people’s ideas and contributions, for example. It can also be a good idea to reward, or help out, your team particularly after a difficult project. Here, again, you can take a leaf out of Angelica’s book: she is an ambassador to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
