5 Habits that Successful Leaders Have

Whether you are a business leader, an engineering lead, an entrepreneur, or an individual contributor, you might have noticed some common behaviors in people who lead. In this article, I will list down the 5 habits that successful leaders have in common.

 

  • Having a Positive Mindset

Great leaders have a positive mindset and they radiate positive energy to others. They strongly believe that they are they are confident, successful, and loved. Successful leaders read inspirational books, listen to motivational speakers, attend personal development workshops, and surround themselves with positive like-minded people. They hire right people on their teams, who not only have the right skills but also possess a positive mindset. Such positive minded people are self-motivated to perform at their best.

Check out the inspirational book, Think Positive, Speak Positive, Act Positive - A 3 Step Strategy to Embrace Positivity and Change Your Life.

 

  • Communicating Effectively

Effective communication is vital to the success of an organization. In 1938, Chester Barnard, the author of pioneering work in management theory and organizational studies, concluded that effective communication is the most important responsibility of leaders. Leaders listen effectively and encourage their team members to provide feedback. They keep an open mind, encourage collaboration, and promote consensus.

 

  • Empowering Others

Great leaders with a positive mindset empower the team. They target to create more leaders than followers.

The best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution, Bill Gates stated, “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

Leaders inspire their team, appreciate their work, help their team members to grow their visibility, connect them with right opportunities, and encourage them to fulfill their dreams. One of the richest American and successful industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, once said, “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.”

 

  • Continuous Learning

Great leaders always look forward to read inspirational books, listen to motivational speakers, read the autobiographies of other great leaders, and learn from successful self-development coaches. They often listen to audiobooks while driving to work. Leaders set aside some percentage of their earnings to invest in their learning. John F. Kennedy once stated, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

 

  • Networking

Successful leaders spend their time and energy to build strong relationships with others. They like to connect with like-minded people. Leaders like to attend seminars, workshops, meetings, conferences, and any other public events not only to build their expertise but to meet new people who share their passion and purpose.

There’s a famous quote, Birds of the same feather flock together.”

 

These are the 5 habits that successful leaders have. If you have noticed other such common habits, leave your comments below.

More articles:

 

Be a lean-agile leader with these books:

 

The Power of Positive Thinking

You might have noticed that there are some people around you who are a pleasure to be with. They have a magnetic personality. They attract people and share their positive vibrations with others. Such people find it very easy to strike a conversation with anyone. They are usually your ‘go-to’ people at work or elsewhere. That's the power of positive thinking

On the other hand, there are other people who seem worried and depressed. They like to stay with themselves. They usually find it difficult to start a conversation and feel comfortable when they are alone. The difference lies in the energy that they possess and radiate. Thoughts play an important part in creating this energy. Every moment, one is receiving and radiating thoughts. Thoughts define our character and influence our destiny.

Positive thoughts are formed if you have self-confidence. If you think you are strong, confident, accepted, successful, and loved, you will radiate positive energy to others. On the contrary, if you think that you are weak, unaccepted, defeated, unsuccessful and unloved, you will possess negative thoughts and radiate negative energy.

 

Swami Vivekananda once said, “All power is within you. Do not believe that you are weak. You can do anything and everything.”

 

The Human Mind: A Powerful Source

The human mind is always full of thoughts. It is very difficult to retain the positive thoughts in the mind. Negative thoughts will try to enter your mind all the time, but the key is to replace those thoughts with positive ones. If you start to think that you are weak, painful or tired, immediately replace those thoughts with those of strength and recovery. If you think you have failed, replace your negative thoughts with positive memories; when you brought a smile to others, when you wiped off the tears of your loved ones, or when you made them proud.

Fill your mind with thoughts that make you happy. Remember the moments when somebody thanked you for your generosity, when you received an honest appreciation for your hard work, or when your colleagues admired your skills. Realize the power of positive thoughts. With positive thoughts, you can attract positive energy towards you.

Do not doubt your abilities. Don’t forget that you are the creation of the almighty God and have a unique purpose in life. You are a masterpiece. You have been carefully made by the creator of this universe. You can achieve whatever you want.

 

The Power Of Positive Thinking: Real Examples

Nick Vujicic is an Australian Christian man who is born with no arms and no legs. It was very easy for him to think negative. Imagine how helpless he would have felt in his childhood. He must have received countless comments about his inadequacy. But, instead of thinking negative, he chose to stay positive. Despite his disabilities, he didn’t find reasons to give up. He not only wrote seven successful books but is also a motivational speaker across the world.

One of Nick’s quotes is, “God won’t allow anything to happen in your life, if it’s not for your good.”

 

Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant scientist in the world, was expelled from school. One of his teachers called him ‘a lazy dog’. After being expelled, he was very disappointed in himself. Even then, he refused to live his life under the shadows of poor self-esteem. He went on to become a professor at the University of Zurich, introduced his theory of relativity, and won the Noble Prize for Physics.

One of his quotes is, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

 

Zig Ziglar was raised in a little house in the outskirts of Alabama. When he was five years old, both his dad and his younger sister died. In his childhood, he used to milk the cows, sell vegetables on the street, and work in the grocery store. He was underweight and had poor self-esteem. His dream was to own a large house with an acre of land, and a big garden. He attended the University of South Carolina, married at the age of seventeen, dropped out of college, and worked as a cookware salesman for WearEver Aluminum Company. He feared rejection and did not sell much.

During one of his sales meeting, Mr. P. C. Merrell, the divisional supervisor of the company, encouraged him to believe in himself and trust his potential. He gave him advice on how to succeed. This was the turning point in Zig’s life. As soon as his self-esteem improved, he became one of the best salesmen and got promoted to the divisional supervisor position. Later, he became a bestselling author and a motivational speaker. His first book ‘See you at the Top’ was published in 1975. He wrote several books, including his autobiography, and even received the prestigious Cavett award by the National Speakers Association. Such was the result of an improved self-esteem and positive thinking.

 

More articles:

 

You may be interested to read:

 

Other Books:

 

 

How to Build Self-Confidence?

Many children and adults suffer from low self-esteem. Having nurtured the feelings of self-doubt, they struggle both at work and at home. They don't understand how to build self-confidence. Not only they have fewer friends, but they also lead an unhappy life. Such people struggle with their studies, careers, health, and relationships. Often, they think negative and find faults in others. As a result, they neither trust their own potential nor they see good qualities in others. 

Self-confidence is a mindset that can be mastered like any other skill. Some of the effective ways to build your self-confidence are listed here:

 

Body Language

Body language is a form of non-verbal communication that exposes one’s feelings, moods, and thoughts. One must be cautious of his or her body language and practice to present himself or herself in a confident manner. Holding your head high, sitting up straight, straightening your back, and maintaining consistent eye contact are some of the gestures that demonstrate self-confidence.

 

Grooming

Though obvious and most simple, the regular morning activities such as bathing, shaving, and trimming set a positive mood for the day. One should also remember to wear a deodorant or a perfume.

 

Dress-Up

If you dress nicely, you feel good about yourself. Dress such that you look confident to others. If you want to be a senior executive in your company, dress-up like one. Look in the mirror each morning and ask yourself if you look like other senior executives in the company. When you are dressed nicely, you will act more confident.

 

Embrace Positivity

Think, speak, and act in a positive way. Have a can-do attitude. Smile, laugh and surround yourself with like-minded positive people. Set aside sometime during each day to read motivational books. Do not feed negativity in your mind. When negative thoughts come to the mind, replace them with positive ones or engage yourself in some activity such as reading a book, listening to music, running, or socializing etc. Declare positive things for yourself. Speak to others in a positive way. Define your success and act in a positive way. This will boost your self-confidence and you’ll soon start to see a difference.

 

More articles:

 

Other Books: