The world has seen charismatic business leaders like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Ma, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Estee Lauder, Henry Ford, Madam CJ Walker and many others. They are iconic and immediately invoke a deep emotion of respect and admiration when their names are mentioned. They lead with example and charm persuading others across the world to follow their steps.
Some legendary business leaders like Estee Lauder and Steve Jobs had humble beginnings and were not a success overnight. However, with their sheer grit and determination, they have reached the pinnacles of fame to inspire the globe with their inspirational entrepreneurial skills and dynamic business acumen.
Now, the question is what makes them so different and super successful from the rest? Today’s post will delve into the 7 personality traits of successful business leaders as keys to success, so to know more check them out below-
1. Innovation
Innovation has primarily been their major key to success. Take Steve Jobs, for instance, Apple began when its Founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs decided to work from a home garage with a small team. With their knack for constant knowledge, creativity and innovation, they quickly rose to become a technological giant in the world that still reigns supremely even till this date.
After the demise of Steve Jobs, Tim Cook took over Apple and effectively navigated the company through those times of transition. The Company known for its iconic iPhones and development of new product lines, is still going strong and is one of the most valuable companies in the world today.
2. Insightfulness
As a business leader, it is you who need to decide what is the best for your team and company. Take the example of Elon Musk who is not only a futuristic business leader but an investor and inventor. Known for PayPal and SpaceX along with his committed involvement in Tesla Motors, he has a deep passion for pushing modern-day technological limits and integrating his entire team in this exciting process too.
3. Optimism
Business leaders face challenges often however they are the captains of a ship that needs to sail through troubling waters regularly to reach their destination or business goals safely. With intense optimism and a positive approach, they take their teams with them to face obstacles fearlessly, learn from their mistakes, bounce back with better ideas to ensure the community gets immense value with the improved products and services they offer.
Take Bill Gates for instance, he not only took Microsoft to the zenith of success but has also contributed largely to the welfare and benefit of society with his philanthropic activities. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation believes in giving back to the community and it is working hard to bring development to third world nations and provide clean water and sanitation to the globe.
4. Accountability
Inspirational business leaders never play the blame game. For them “failures are the stepping stones to success” They own their mistakes and never invoke resentment in their team as this is one of the desired business leaders keys to success. You can take the example of Jack Ma who was rejected from University thrice. Post-graduation, he applied for 30 jobs and was rejected in all of them.
He came to know about the Internet on a short trip to the USA and when he came home, he created a site about China and its products. This was his first step towards the creation of the Ali Baba Group of esteemed Internet companies that would grab the record of being the highest IPO in history.
5. Open-mindedness
In order to manage a business successfully, leaders should be open to the different opportunities that surface in the market. They should be able to welcome new knowledge that will help them evolve into iconic business leaders they want to become. Take for instance, the case of Jan Koum, the creator of WhatsApp that became one of the fastest downloaded apps in the Play Store before he sold it to Facebook for a staggering $19.3 billion in 2014.
6. Empowerment
Super-successful leaders empower not only their business teams but the whole community as well. They are aware of their team’s strengths and weaknesses and are able to push the right buttons to get the best out of them. They are like coaches of professional sports teams and are mentors and guides too. For instance, Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, founded in 2002 converted this social media platform into the most widely used resource for career growth for millions of working professionals across the world.
7. Generosity
Leaders deal with real people and they evolve with their personal growth too. They help others accomplish their professional and personal goals by directly helping the social community to progress. For example, Warren Buffet who is one of the most successful investors in the world often called “The Wizard of Omaha” (since he was born in Omaha in Nebraska) has pledged to give approximately 99% of his accumulated fortune to several philanthropic causes after his demise.
Therefore, from the above, now you know why some business leaders perform better than others. They all have these seven traits in their personalities and are open to evolution and growth. They strive for excellence and think not only about themselves but the entire community as well!
