It's easy to see why people would want to emulate the success of successful leaders like Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk. But what are the qualities that make these Leaders so successful? According to the experts, as well as my own experience, I believe that these 5 traits are crucial if you want to achieve a significant career in your lifetime.
1) Drive . I believe drive is the #1 thing that makes successful leaders successful. Plain and simple. If you don't have it, you probably won't make it. Drive is what separates successful leaders from those who dream about reaching the top, but never do.
Drive is the motivation to keep going when times are tough, and also the willingness to sacrifice for your vision in order to ensure its success. If you don't have the drive, then you will not maintain the enthusiasm to make it to the end, in order to achieve your vision.
2) Vision . If you don't have a vision for yourself and your career (one that is massive in nature), then reaching the top will be difficult. You need to have some sort of vision; otherwise, you won't know where to go or what you are working towards.
3) Leadership . You could have drive and a vision, but if you don't have the knowledge on leadership, then you will never be successful. Knowing what to do is part of the challenge, but experience with leading different personalities and getting the best of your people is the key to success.
4) Guts . The fact that successful leadership is sometimes a tough road should never escape you. If it does, then you'll probably fail pretty quickly (if not sooner). A great successful leader must have the guts to sometimes challenge the status quo, manage through adversity and put everything on the line in order to succeed.
5) Willingness to work hard . If you don't have a willingness to work long hours, dedicate more than the average person's time (without neglecting your family), and make sacrifices in order to achieve your goal, then you probably won't be very successful. The fact of the matter is that if you want to achieve something great, you're going to have to work harder than those who don't even attempt it.
Having said these 5 important traits, there are two additional fundamentals that underpin all 5. The first is Honesty - you need to be honest to yourself, those around you, and the people who support/invest in you in order to succeed. If you aren't honest with yourself and the people who are close to you, it will take much longer for you to achieve your goals than if you were.
The second fundamental is Great Communication - You need to constantly work on communication skills, both internally and externally. This ties into honesty as well--if a person isn't able to communicate effectively, then he/she will not be able to express his/her ideas and concepts clearly.
Successful leaders are people who have the vision, drive, and guts to take risks. They’re also willing to work hard and get their hands dirty in order to make things happen. And they do it with honesty and communication skills that help them learn from mistakes along the way.
What are your thoughts on these traits and fundamentals of successful leadership? Do you agree or disagree with any of the points made in this article? Comment below to let us know.
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