We all are striving for greatness. We all want to be great at what we do. We want to be a great spouse. We want to be great dads or moms. We want to be great employees. We want to be great parents. We want to be great friends. We want to be great neighbors. We want to be great citizens.
Greatness is something that we all want.
Let me just say that greatness does not just happen on its own. Greatness is achieved on purpose. Greatness is an intentional accomplishment. Everyone arrives somewhere, but few arrive on purpose. When you look at leaders who have achieved greatness, they had some things in common.
Here are five characteristics that I have observed of some of the great leaders that I follow:
• Great leaders work hard: Laziness will not get you to greatness. Great leaders work hard and get their hands dirty.
• Great leaders grow great teams around them: Great leaders are not by themselves. Great leaders are there because they have intentionally placed great people around them to help them achieve greatness.
• Great leaders have a clear and strong vision: Great leaders have a plan and a strategy to get there.
• Great leaders listen more than they talk: Too many leaders ignore this simple element. Remember this—you cannot learn new ideas while your mouth is moving.
• Great leaders never stop learning: The best leaders keep learning. They never feel they have learned everything that they need to know. If you want to keep growing as a leader, keep learning.
• Great leaders say “no” to certain things: To be great, you have to learn to say “no” to things, even to good things so you can do great things!
Leaders: Comment below with one thing that you would add to this list of what determines greatness in a leader.