1. Leaders learn from other leaders. Business owners who want to be more than average associate, partner and network with other highly successful and exceptional people. The best way to learn the ropes of success is to surround yourself with those who have already achieved it. Their knowledge and wisdom from years of experience, the mistakes they made, and the secrets they’ve learned, will reduce your learning curve and make your success much faster and easier.
2. Leaders take risks. We’ve all heard the phrase “no risk, no return”. Leaders take risks because they know there is a possibility of a great return. You never know where a simple phone call or conversation may lead. Partnering with someone for a small project might lead to something much larger from which everyone can benefit. Spending a sum of money, even when it’s tight, on a small advertising campaign, to attend a conference, or even to invest in the success of someone else, might pay large dividends later on.
3. Leaders are not attached to outcomes. While leaders take calculated risks, which can potentially benefit their business, they are well aware that the best-laid plans can go awry. Rather than folding up shop and wallowing in disappointment and despair, the leading businessperson recognizes that everything can have either of two outcomes – it works, or it doesn’t. While the outcome is indeed important to their plan for success, they never associate results with their personal self-worth.
4. Leaders are life-long learners. There is no place for complacency in the mind of a leading businessperson. And, that applies to their education as well. Mediocre folks are content with just learning enough to get by. They’ll learn just enough to open shop or hang out their shingle. Leaders, on the other hand, thrive on learning new things – and not just things that relate directly to their business. They not only understand business inside and out, they continually look for ways to increase their knowledge.
5. Leaders have a vision. Having a clear vision of your business purpose and mission can be critical to your business success. A vision, designed exclusively by you, provides a roadmap to help you move yourself from where you are today to where you wish to be tomorrow. When you don’t have a clear vision about why you are in business and what purpose you are serving, it’s easy to go in the wrong direction. Craft a written vision of your business. It will help you stay focused and on track.
6. Leaders are dedicated and committed. Anyone who has achieved the status of leader knows that dedication and commitment is key to their success. In fact, it is these very qualities that led to them becoming a leader. Dedication and commitment are all about being strongly aligned with your goals and not allowing anything to deter you from the outcomes you seek.
7. Leaders have a long-term perspective. Leaders understand process and that it is never ending. Rather than focus on short-term results, Leaders possess a long-term perspective, which allows them to work from a larger vision. By having a larger vision, the world of opportunity is expanded, making for more possibility. A broader view keeps the leader focused on the big goal, but at the same time, she gladly accomplishes and enjoys the small achievements along the way.
8. Leaders have momentum. Leaders, for the most part, possess high degrees of energy. They surround themselves with inspirational environments and uplifting people, involving themselves with exciting projects. As a rule, they look for opportunities to work together to create more than they could on their own.
9. Leaders have a positive perspective. Leaders understand the power of thoughts and how what they think will influence the outcomes they enjoy. Coming from a “glass half-full” perspective, the leader doesn’t allow negativity, criticism, or other unproductive attitudes to enter into their environment. Certainly there are times when they might feel off track, but they know that won’t be long-lived because they aren’t willing to waste one moment thinking, saying or doing the wrong things.
10. Leaders have a plan. Leaders don’t leave their success to chance. Instead, they create a plan of action to create a successful business or to accomplish a particular task. They design a strategy and create goals to support it. To make it more manageable, they will even plan individual action steps. Leaders know that the road to success is a smooth ride once they’ve done the upfront work of creating a plan.
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