As an entrepreneur, you might find yourself wondering about those highly successful companies. Just how do they do it? How do they take their company from bottom feeders to positioning themselves as global leaders in just a few short years?
To answer that, we must take a look at their leaders. If you study the behaviors of the top performing companies, then you will see they all have one thing in common: others-centric and unpretentious leaders. In fact, if you study the CEO’s and other persons in upper leadership roles of all the top performing companies, you will see they all have the same skill set.
Here are the top 8 things that exceptional leaders do to drive their companies to the top.
They do not impose – They will sit back and allow their employees to work. They have extended trust to their team and will allow them the freedom to work without the boss coming in and taking over.
They let others talk – They are able listeners who allow others to take the credit. They are confident enough in their own abilities to take a back seat and let their employees step up and get the glory.
They admit when they are wrong – In a true sign of humility, good leaders will openly admit to being wrong and let their employee know that they were right. They are not the type that always has to be right and they are open to other perspectives. In fact, they embrace other’s ideas.
They give their team all the glory – Humble leaders take the skill of encouragement to a new level and allow their team to bask in the glory and receive all the credit.
They seek out input from others – They squash every bit of pride and not only seek out from others how they are doing but they take their critiques to heart. They have a genuine care for self-reflection and continually want to know how they are doing in their leadership role.
They are straightforward – They aren’t people pleasers and you find them sugar coating things to make themselves look better. They make decisions solely based off their values, not to lift themselves up or make others happy.
They are teachable – Humble leaders’ value the views of others and welcome new ideas. They ask questions and are genuinely interested in the answers. They thrive on learning from those around them.
They create a safe environment – Successful leaders are able to cultivate an environment of trust with their team. They create an atmosphere in which their employees feel safe to take risks, to fail, to come to them with concerns, and to feel confident enough to be part of major decisions.
What kind of leader are you? These types of leaders don’t just wake up one day and find success. One common denominator is that integrity is just a part of who they are, humility comes naturally to them. If you are a self-centered and arrogant leader, you can try to fake your way to humility but eventually those around you will find you out.
In this self-focused society, you can see how embracing humility and a genuine care for others will bring you to the top. In this ever changing corporate world, sometimes the nice guys actually finish first.
~ Written for us by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC. Copyright protected. All rights reserved.
