4 Success Qualities To Help You Achieve Almost Anything

At a recent brainstorm and dump session discussing the issues of power and influence the facilitator gave a succinct sentence describing the perfect leader. To paraphrase her description it would go something like this: the person has a lot of drive, energy and enthusiasm--they’re capable and have capacity about them; they make things happen. They are also experts in their fields and have much knowledge and the ability to grow in knowledge, and importantly, they know how to use knowledge. They are also very good with people, very approachable and relational. In fact, one could say this describes the perfect technician in any field, not simply leadership.

Let’s look at four (4) things that sort the real successful person from the also-ran:

Energy

Ever found it totally frustrating when people can’t focus or achieve the things you need them to? People with energy to burn on the other hand don’t often wilt and they come back for more, much like energiser batteries! To develop energy like this requires quite an intrinsic level of motivation i.e. we do things because we want to do them. We get our own rewards from these things. People like to go to these people. On the other hand, drainers of energy repel people.

Enthusiasm

Often confused with the above, enthusiasm is different. They find enthusiasm even when things seem hard. These people are the catalysts that make it all happen. Enthusiasm is infectious--energy doesn’t work the same way. When people have enthusiasm the twinkle in the eye and the swift step are often instantly noticeable. Enthusiasm is attractive.

Expert Power

Energy and enthusiasm are great, but without some tangible resources it’s all veneer; a friendly and warm façade at best. The person who can combine capacity (energy) with actual useful and powerful information has great power indeed. As mentioned above, expert power requires more than having knowledge; it’s also about how and when the knowledge is used. Enter people…

Being a Good ‘People’ Person

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The final touch is the person who loves people… and in doing so, this person wins the respect of all because they in turn respect all. They’re affable, approachable and their energy and enthusiasm is genuine, authentic. It’s not easy dealing with people and being consistently understanding, so this is like the final frontier. The best leaders are resilient with people; they’re never put off or offended.