Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hearing a great presentation by Dean Savoca, of Savoca Performance Group a well-known speaker and presenter on topics surrounding effectiveness and leadership in the business world.

The speech showcased the Eight Attributes of Successful Leaders and it really hit home. After I listened to the presentation I not only spent the rest of the day with the key lessons in the back of my head, I’ve also tried to apply the concepts into how I foster my professional career as the Senior Vice President of Business Development with the Greater Lansing CVB. My goal is to focus on these tips to better myself and those whom I manage. Below are the eight attributes of successful leaders he shared and the notes on each point.

1 – Responsibility

  • Stop the Blame Game
  • Eliminate your top/ “go-to” excuses
  • Manage how you “Show up”
    • Manage your emotional state!
    • Be deliberate and positive with your posture, breathing and facial expression
    • What do you spend most of your day focused on? Focus on what you believe and that will impact how you feel.

2 – Vision

  • Successful leaders have a clear and inspiring vision
  • Write down your goals and visions! Ask the question – “What do I want?” Write it down and have categories for various areas of your life; Relationships, career, financial, spiritual. Have it written down and accessible on a regular basis. Write a measurable goal for each area.
  • Where do you want to be in 2020? Are you visualizing what you need to be doing to achieve it? Is it clear and written down?

3 – Balance

  • Balance requires mindfulness. It’s easy to become driven on one goal and begin to neglect others.
  • Challenge rules and social norms to keep balanced.
  • Identify successful habits and stick to them!

4 – Strengths

  • Grow your strengths through contribution and transfer!
  • Take something you are good at because people have told you so and contribute that strength to as much as you can.
  • Use strengths in one area of life and transfer them into another area of life and when you can, transfer them to others through teaching and coaching opportunities.

5 – Action Plan

  • Without a plan your goals tend to stay in the dream state
  • Schedule time to reflect, think and plan
  • Focus on key outcomes!
  • Are you outcome focused or “to-do” list focused?
  • Set weekly outcomes and then establish steps to achieve these

6 – Embrace Courage

  • Commit to continuous growth, think big and become more
  • Growth happens when you step outside your comfort zone
  • It’s okay to feel fear – as long as you act, despite that fear. Remember FAIL stands for First Attempt In Learning.
  • Even if you fail, it’s just a new learning experience that can make you stronger the next time. The only time you really fail is when you quit.

7 – Build a Success Team

  • Find partners who are also focused on success
  • Identify potential mentors – someone who has been in your position and has advanced to where you want to go
  • Have a coach – someone who can help you close the gap on your target goals
  • Form a mastermind group – who are the 10 smartest people you know? Find new ways to learn from them.

8 – Appreciation

  • Be grateful – being appreciative of others and our blessings allows us to be happier
  • Focus not just on self-improvement, but strengthening your relationships through thoughtfulness
  • Be present!
  • Keep perspective

This is a lot of info to take in, and starting a new way of thinking can be a challenge but I see it as a blueprint to success. If you agree, follow it for yourself or seek out an opportunity to see Dean speak in person. Success comes from within and the proof is right here.