Dame Neslyn arrives today

Neslyn Eugenie Watson was born in Elderslie, St Elizabeth, to Norman Watson and Linnett Barrett. She, who has 15 siblings from both sides of her family, attended school at Elderslie and Retirement. For a while she worked as a civil servant in the Ministry of Communications and Works, at Industrial Terrace in Kingston.

On March 22, 1969, at the age of 19, Watson was met at London’s Heathrow Airport by distant relatives who brought her a coat and a pair of boots, for she had jumped out of the oven and into the refrigerator “with very little” – seven cotton dresses, enough underwear to last for a week without laundry, and three pairs of pyjamas. Initially, she settled at Ashford in Kent.

Now, she is Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing, a Fellow of The City and Guilds London Institute, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, a registered midwife, a registered general nurse, and a registered nurse tutor. The former chair of The Phoenix Newspaper was awarded her damehood in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours List for the development of women and minorities. Her investiture took place on February 13, this year.

She is also a holder of a Master of Science degree in health promotion, a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in psychology, a diploma in health education, a higher diploma in health visiting (known in Jamaica as public health nursing), and a post-graduate certificate in education. She has also been recognised by the University of Bradford, Birmingham City University, and The Commonwealth University of Business, Arts and Technology.

Define myself

But, it was not always smooth sailing for the woman who said, “I learnt not to let others define me. I define myself, my value does not decrease because of the inability of others to see my worth. Within the garden of my heart there is a master power flame that blazes within and around me, out of which I can bring magic to my life.”

One of the bumps along her road to success occurred when she went to the training school that had accepted her for state registered nurse training. There, she was told that the training school was recently downgraded to second-level nurse training. With no resources or support she decided to be trained as a second-level nurse (State Enrolled Nurse – SEN) rather than working as an auxiliary nurse. Soon after completing her SEN training, Watson began her state registered nurse training,

And, today, Dame Neslyn arrives in the land of her birth for a well-deserved vacation. It is not her first time back to ‘The Rock’ as in the early 1990s she had returned on a consultancy assignment with Jamaica Citizens Bank, “undertaking personal and team development with employees in preparation for the take over of Jamaica Citizens Bank by the Bank of Nova Scotia.

She is a premier coach, an individual who coaches people who are in executive jobs. The highly acclaimed international public speaker currently works as a premier coach to His Majesty’s civil servants in the UK, and has presented to the European Parliament, public and private sector organisations and various charities on the topics of leadership development, leaving a legacy, and living with purpose and passion. Her unique business system, Beacon Leadership Star System, and its sub-system, The Leader’s Code, are used worldwide to change organisational culture, develop creativity, and care about people.

The business owner, author, radio host, business psychologist, non-executive director, chairman of public and private companies has received a number of awards inclusive of the National Training Award UK, Consultancy and Training Award, British Diversity Award, Diversity Persuader of the Decade, Author’s Award from Radio Works World, The Millennium Nurse – Special Recognition Award, Beacon Organisational Award for 100 Best Global Coaching Leaders, Women Economic Forum Award for Women of the Decade in Community Leadership and Social Change, and the Queen Elizabeth 11 Medal.

In speaking with The Gleaner about the major message that she has to tell from her life experiences, Dame Neslyn said, among other things, “Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts. I learnt that to be successful I had to have my heart in my business and my business in my heart. I have learnt that the important thing is not being afraid to take a chance.

“Remember the greatest failure is not to try. It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not. So, think big and don’t listen to people who tell you it can’t be done. Life is too short to think small. The only person I am destined to become is the person I decide to be and if failure comes, don’t quit.”