Seven habits of successful leaders

Jim Collins, a management guru, has studied the profile of leaders he considers to be the fifty greatest in our history. From this study, there are two fundamental points shared by these great business leaders: rigor and discipline.
It is the “strategic” discipline that leads to defining clear objectives, strong values ​​and rules shared by their employees. In addition to defining them, they know how to make them adopt and not impose them; which allows them to establish a sustainable discipline. As J. Collins put it, “a culture of discipline is not a business principle, it is a principle of greatness”. To make it a habit and to instil a culture of discipline, it is important to integrate and live values ​​yourself as a leader. That’s what leaders who inspire us understand.

he leaders who are references for us, know that a company is not safe from the unexpected, which can modify the initial plans and put it out of their control. That’s why business leaders anticipate the worst, not to avoid it or prevent it from happening, but rather to prepare for it and face it with confidence when it occurs. Is the worst-case scenario a preferred method of the successful leader to have control over the situations, the company and thus maintain the productive capacity of the
society ? One understands the importance that he could thus give to a tool like the “Pessimist’s Guide” published every year by Bloomberg, even if this one does not necessarily reflect the realities specific to all the continents.

In their relationship with others in general and with their associates in particular, top business leaders, admired for their quality and performance, have learned to ask questions and ask questions to understand. Knowing how to ask the right questions requires listening, paying attention to the other person. These leaders we love do not just listen, they are used to listening actively. By this posture, they always have a physical attitude of availability when they listen; they learned to listen without preconceived ideas and without intention of interpretation, while refraining from interrupting their interlocutors in order to question without a priori. It is through this habit of listening that the people who effectively lead their team, understand first others before being understood later.

Successful leaders are so because they have a habit not to put off things that can not wait. Having understood that the postponement of tasks or activities may lead to counting opportunities.
Rigorous planning helps them overcome lack of preparation and fear of failure, which is one of the reasons for procrastination.

Leaders who successfully lead have a habit of being courteous in all circumstances. In normal situations, as in moments of pressure or extreme stress, successful leaders very rarely lose control. They are cool and can keep a cool head.
They have learned to control themselves in complex situations and strive to always act with elegance. These simple words (please, thank you, etc.) are the everyday life of successful leaders even when they are speaking to their smallest collaborator. As Gilles ATAYI points out, the leaders we admire “are the last to raise their voices”.

Among the reasons for the performance of the leaders who are our admiration, we can count the positivity and quality to be surrounded by people themselves positive. Successful leaders are used to surfing the good mood and positive energy they create within their organizations. They strive to cultivate happiness at work because, they understand that to be successful companies need employees, who take pleasure in what they do and note that they can be happy while
working.
In their habit of detection and recruitment of the people they surround themselves with, the great business leaders, who have understood that being happy at work is a condition of the well-being of their society, privilege in addition to the competence, the quality to instill a positive spirit and the joy of living at work.

Successful leaders do not wait to be placed in a reactionary situation to act. They have the habit of taking initiatives, proactively, to anticipate situations. In general, when the manager, manager or manager is in a position of reactivity, it supposes that he no longer has control over the situation, which naturally reduces his chances of success.