What We're Talking About...Habits of Successful Business Leaders

Everyday I wake up and think wouldn't it be great if I was a successful multi-millionaire business leader? I mean #goals right? Even though you and I may not be the CMO or CEO just yet, there's no telling what heights we can reach with the right mindset, habits and some good ol' grit.

Maybe you're thinking, “but I'm just ordinary, how could I possibly be the next Bill Gates or Sheryl Sandberg?” Well it turns out that many of the worlds most successful business leaders possess habits that could help us 'ordinary' people become successful. To start, I found that almost every single one has a morning routine that they do EVERY single day. The consistency of a routine allows them to focus their brainpower on other, more important demands. Another common habit mentioned was staying up to date on industry news and devoting time everyday to read. Whether from a book, news source, or social posts - they are constantly learning.

If you strive to be a successful business leader...here's what we're talking about...

Articles

The 5 Habits of Highly Successful Social Media Manager via. Social Hire

This article discusses the five habits of highly successful social media managers including: have a clearly defined objective, focused efforts, infuse personality into posts, always learn and test, and be super efficient.

How to Get Your Team to Follow Through After a Meeting via. HBR

“This is not about micromanaging or not trusting — this is simply good project management.”

This article discusses how hard it is to keep your team motivated after a meeting. People have other tasks come up and priorities shift throughout the week. An easy way to combat this is, is to set clear agreements and specific actions with completion dates at the end of each meeting and follow up throughout the week to ensure people have accomplished these tasks on time. If someone doesn't complete a task on time, don't hold it against them, have a chat with them to make sure this won't happen again and how you can help support them in the future.

9 Habits of High-Performing Business Leaders via. Entrepreneur

“Every morning, before you check email, determine the three most important tasks to complete for the day.”

This article highlights nine habits that many seasoned business leaders share: plan for the long term, communicate quickly and effectively, spend money wisely, set a daily routine, meet challenges with enthusiasm, read, never stop networking, think creatively and nurture yourself.

35 Business Leaders Share Their Daily Habits via. TIME Business

“When it comes to achieving success, actions speak louder than words, connections, or opportunities”

This article has quotes from 35 successful business leaders. Each person gives a daily habit that they feel helps them be a better business leader. Some of our personal favorites are: exercise everyday, check KPI's first thing in the morning, always ask why, talk to people, read the news about your industry first thing in the morning, make a daily 'top three' to-do list, and take time to reflect.

Successful Habits of Millionaire Business Leaders via. Forbes

“Much of the advice is cliché...The key is that the successful entrepreneur millionaires she has interviewed embody and ‘LIVE’ those clichés.”

This article discusses common habits of many successful entrepreneur millionaires. These leaders actually live out cliche advice, and give tips on how you can too. The habits the author discusses are: focus, overcoming obstacles, and more. There is also a link to an interview with Jaime Tardy where she discusses many more habits of successful millionaire business leaders.

15 Daily Habits of Powerhouse Leaders via. Business Insider

“The habits or routines followed by leaders are as diverse as are their talents.”

This article discusses how not all leaders have the same daily habits but there are similarities and key points that most leaders have in common: associate with interesting people, pay yourself first (not monetarily), make technology serve your needs, clear your head and keep energy high, eat your own dog food (again, not actually eating your own dog food), flex your spiritual muscle, practice what you teach, keep an inquisitive mind, replenish your resources, plan for success, trust your intuition, banish the naysayers, find your creative zone, create space to think.

How to Be a Great Leader Without Following “Be Yourself” Mentality via. LinkedIn

“Being yourself begins by being true to your core motive because no matter what you do it will be hard to let it go off without understanding how that works.”

This article covers the fact that being yourself is truly about what drives and motivates you. There are four primary motives that guide us: power, love, peace and fun. Each of these different characteristics have different motives for why they are good leaders and have different leadership styles.

Podcast

The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader via. Marketing over Coffee

This podcast talks about Thomas Barta's book regarding the powers of a marketing leader.

Infographic

How 16 Successful Entrepreneurs Start Their Day via. Entrepreneur

“Some of the most successful people across various industries have established strict morning routines to help them maximize their energy and productivity throughout the day.”

This infographic highlights 16 very successful entrepreneurs and their morning habits that help them be more productive throughout the day.

Our Pick of the Week

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

An oldie but a goodie! This book was written in the 1930's, but the lessons are still applicable today. Some highlight you will learn from this book:

• Includes innovative techniques in handling people and rules for making life happier

• Highlights the miracles of changing your ways of thinking

• A brilliant and motivating guide on building skills for overcoming life’s challenges.