7 Benchmarks for Successful Leaders

I often get asked for career advice. I guess it’s probably because I didn’t go to college, and am a pretty driven individual. Things that drove me early on in my career, stemmed from people saying I’d be a complete failure because I didn’t graduate college. I learned early on, that I was very driven to “prove people wrong”. But that only took me so far, and created somewhat of a monster. I needed to get past that bitter approach if I was going to take things to the next level. That proved harder than I thought, and led to a lot of difficult times in my career.

Since then, I’ve slowly learned to become more well rounded. Most of that comes from life experience. Through trial and error, I began taking note of what worked, what didn't work, and what attributes I saw in individuals that I wanted to model myself after. That began shaping my personal definition of what "true leadership" really looked like... both professionally and personally.

With that said, there are 7 benchmarks that I like to share with young up and coming professionals that I think have the potential to translate into success in other areas of business and life:

1.    Be Humble: Humility is a trait that doesn’t fit in well with our society. We live in a “me-centered” society that is built on building up egos. I see this as a MAJOR problem in the millennial workforce. And that is creating a significant problem with major ramifications. With the absence of humility in work culture, we start to see corporate culture rapidly deteriorate. Team atmospheres begin to crumble… and coworkers who should be on the same page, find themselves constantly looking over their shoulder. Humility is a lost art. The best leaders are the unassuming kind.

2.    Be Kind: Kindness is contagious. It knocks people off guard, and is a basic virtue that should be incorporated into every aspect of our lives. But in your career, kindness says to other people that you value them as a human being. You want to see them succeed. You are approachable. And that adds immediate value to culture.

3.    Be Unwavering: Humility and Kindness can often be misconstrued as weakness. They're anything but. Being unwavering means that when you make a decision, you own it. Especially when that decision turns out to be a bad one. Own your mistakes. Don’t throw people under the bus for your own failures. THAT, is weakness. THAT, is cowardly. Be a leader who owns up to your failures just as much as you’re willing to own your successes. Step in front of the team during moments of testing, and be willing to take the hits. Moments of definition in your career come in how you handle failure, how you grow from failure, and how you lead during crisis. Be unwavering in your resolve to grow from your mistakes. During times of success, be unwavering in giving credit to the team. Little will leave a more lasting impression than this attribute.

4.    Be Teachable:  If you aren’t growing and changing with the industry, you will get passed up quickly. I see this so often. People don’t grow and change in their career, and end up becoming power hungry as a way to cling to some demented form of self-worth and control. Leaders are teachable. They are willing to learn from anyone. And it’s normally the quiet ones that we have the most to learn from. So shut up, listen, and structure your approach in such a way as to always be willing to learn from others.

5.    Be Mentored: I am a HUGE believer in mentoring programs. Early on in my career, I set aside monies to take folks out to lunch. I had a list of ten individuals from different areas of IT, who I considered “the best” in their area. Don’t be afraid to pursue those people even with a peculiar resolve. Take them out to lunch. Get to know them. Get to know what they like to do outside of work. Get to know what makes them tick. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to get cheap career advice, to have the right people in your corner, to learn tricks of the trade, etc. And who knows, you might make a new friend out of the deal. I still keep in contact with over six of those folks to this day. Perhaps the best and most life changing thing that I ever did, was to pursue a personal mentor in my life. It changed my life forever.

6.    Be a Mentor: Following up on #5, pay it forward. Always go out and look for people that you can invest in. Here’s the critical part in this: Don’t waste your time. Your time is valuable. Invest in individuals who share similar traits, similar drive, and are worth the investment. This creates successful leaders in the future – who will carry on the torch for you, long after you’re gone. It also creates a solid network of loyal folks in the trail of your career who may very well be career-saving assets in the future. Don’t make that your motivation, though. Investing in the lives of others creates long term perspective in your own life. You’ll rarely regret doing this.

7.    Demonstrate a Quiet Confidence: People are watching you. They’re watching how you react to situations. They’re watching how you react to the aforementioned moments of failure. They’re watching how you react to successes. Quiet Confidence says that you know what you’re doing, you’re comfortable in your own skin, and you aren’t intimidated in the moment. Quiet Confidence demonstrates a humility that’s contagious. Sometimes this attribute is seen as a weakness by certain individuals in the short term, but it will ALWAYS win out in the long term. Quiet Confidence also doesn’t say “you’re welcome to come walk all over me”. Quietly Confident individuals also stand up for what is right. They’re willing to “go to the mat” for that which is good and right. That sets you up for lasting respect amongst your peers.

This list obviously isn’t exhaustive, but it’s a solid start. Carrying out these attributes in your life, both in career and in your personal life, set you up for longer term success. They’re attributes that set you up well for the big picture, increasing longer term perspective, and will help make your career more fulfilling. My grandfather demonstrated these attributes with such grace and resolve - things I will never forget about him.

Quite simply, I just don’t see how you can go wrong with this type of approach. I definitely haven’t perfected it…. In fact, I’m pretty horrible at this approach much of the time. But I’m always pursuing growth. I’m always pursuing positive change. Some of the folks that I respect most in the industry and in my personal life, consistently demonstrated these types of qualities. I want to foster these types of qualities in my own kids. People won’t remember if you got a degree or where you got it from. What they WILL remember, is how you carried yourself when the going gets tough. And lastly, DO NOT make excuses. You're solely responsible for your own career success. Making excuses will only weaken your career. It will weaken you. Go out there and take it. Run your own career like a business. Go out there and lead by example. Our world needs more of this type of leadership. 

"Hold the door, say please and say thank you

Don’t steal, don’t cheat, don’t lie

I know you got mountains to climb, but

Always stay humble and kind

When the dreams you’re dreaming come to you

When the work you put in is realized

Let yourself feel the pride, but

Always stay humble and kind"

-Humble and Kind, Tim McGraw