Ever had a boss that made you think, “Damn, they’re good.” No matter how crazy of a problem they encounter, they seem to always find an amazing solution all while keeping their team’s morale, faith, and confidence high. But how do they do it?
The secret is actually pretty simple. In fact, they have habits that build up the skills and abilities that make them such a great leader. This week’s blog post will go through the seven habits that exceptional leaders have and why these habits make them so great.
1. THEY LEARN FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING BETTER THAN THEM.
While some people may be born with natural leadership skills, most great leaders aren’t. They learned to become exceptional leaders by constantly observing, studying, and learning from other strong leaders. They learn about what makes these people successful, what mistakes they made, and what decisions they took that brought them to where they are today.
2. THEY CONSTANTLY EDUCATE THEMSELVES.
Great leaders know that they don’t know everything. They also know that fear comes from a lack of knowledge. A little confused? Here’s what we mean here… Most people feel fear because they don’t know what’s waiting for them on the other side of that thing they’re wishing for and working for. But when we’re educated on the topic and are armed with the necessary knowledge, we feel more confident in taking action and feel less afraid, since we know what’s on the other side waiting for us. Therefore, they’re constantly reading books, attending seminars and conferences, participating in masterminds, and more to keep building their knowledge.
3. THEY TAKE MASSIVE AND SMART ACTION.
Building upon the point above, exceptional leaders know that knowledge is the foundation of everything. However, it can only bring you so far. Once you have amassed a certain amount of knowledge, it’s time to think of the smartest moves you can make and take action.
4. THEY KNOW THEIR “WHY.”
Great leaders know why they are doing what they’re doing. They know what their mission is and what they want to achieve. Plus, they’re highly aware that knowing their why makes it easier for them to communicate it to their team and get them onboard the same mission.
5. THEY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOSSING AND LEADING.
A good leader knows that bossing people around won’t bring them any closer to their goals. If anything, this only makes the process of getting to the finish line a lot more difficult.
However, leading the way will help drive your team to reach your shared goals, and keep them motivated throughout the whole journey to take action, meet deadlines, and crush the objectives you set for them.
6. THEY FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS RATHER THAN BLAMING.
When they are experiencing losses or hard times, great leaders don’t victimize themselves. They learn from their mistakes and move on. And they do the same thing at work with their team. They don’t look for people to blame, but they do look for solutions, and any learning opportunity that could be found in these situations.
7. THEY HOLD THEMSELVES ACCOUNTABLE.
Leaders hold themselves to higher standards than what they hold their teams to. They also make sure that they are held accountable for whatever it is they set themselves to do. According to Gordon Tredgold from INC.com, doing so “encourages their teams to take ownership, which has a positive impact on results and outcomes.”
Being an exceptional leader is something that you can slowly become by adopting habits that help build the essential skills of a great leader.
We would like to know: have you ever experienced working for an exceptional leader? If so, we want to know if the habits you observed they partake in and how you believe those habits helped them achieve the level of success they have.