Tony Robbins | 5 Things All Great Leaders Do
By Tony Robbins
“Anyone can be a leader; in their home, business, community. It’s about answering the call.” – Tony Robbins
Great leaders aren't born; they're made.
They're forged either through their own focus and dedication or developed through life's trials and tribulations. People who never thought of themselves as leaders can become one by answering life’s call.
It's not leadership by position that allows people to succeed; it's the capacity to influence the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions of other human beings.
It’s the most important skill a human can master.
But how do you develop this ability? What are the key characteristics of great leaders?
I’ve had the honor of meeting many kinds of leaders throughout my four-and-a-half-decade career.
Presidents on both sides of the aisle who determined the course of history...
Star athletes who brought their teams to the ultimate victory...
Parents, teachers, mentors who’ve made all the difference...
And the greatest thought leaders and innovators of our time who have shaped the fabric of society.
They all share key commonalities that make them great leaders. I’ve applied these skills in my own life, and I'm honored to share them with you today.
Because the truth is, great leaders are needed today more than ever.
Whether you’re a leader in your home, your business, or community, great leadership is available to those who answer the call.
Looking to grow your leadership skills? Start with these 5 skills every great leader has:
1. Influence Over Position
A lot of people think of leadership as a position or a title.
It’s neither of those things.
How many of you have had a boss that was a terrible leader? Just because someone has a title doesn’t make them a leader.
You know what does?
Influence.
Great leaders know how to influence themselves first and foremost.
They can influence their own thoughts and emotions to achieve their goals, whether that’s building strength in the gym, cultivating a loving home life, or launching a new business idea.
You can start being a great leader by being the leader of your own life.
And the most high-quality, authentic form of leadership is servant leadership.
Whether I’m working with someone one-on-one, or with an organization, my goal is always to serve. I am a servant leader who also situationally adapts my leadership style based on the moment and what best serves a given situation.
This is the kind of leader I strive to be in my companies, in my family, and in the world.
You can too, friend.
2. It’s Not About Smarts; It’s About Who Executes
When it comes to pioneering your product or business, reaching your fitness goal, or writing your next book, it’s never about who's the smartest person in the room.
It’s about who will execute.
Knowledge isn't power; it's potential power. Execution trumps knowledge every day of the week.
Who can make it happen? Who will get there first? Who exchanges the thinking for the doing?
The names in any category we know and love exist because a person acted on their big idea.
There is someone less intelligent and less talented than you who is living your dream because they decided to go first.
Being a great leader is about taking action when no one else will.
Leaders go first.
3. Study the Success of Others
Ask yourself this question: What’s one area I want to become masterful in?
Dabblers won’t see success. But if you’re masterful at your craft the sky is the limit for what you can achieve and who you can inspire.
No matter what field you’re in or what you want to do with your life, someone else has done it before.
Success leaves clues.
You can look to others who have gone before you to see what works.
It’s what I call modeling.
Growing up I had mentors like Jim Rohn who showed me how to be successful. And before I had real life mentors, I had books.
The point is to study the strategies of others.
And to this day I have mentors for every area of life. Whether it be health or finances, I find people who have walked the path and know the way.
All the most successful people on the planet, from athletes to CEOs, have mentors.
Do you, friend?
4. Leaders Anticipate; Losers React
Great leaders take inventory of where they are.
They’re not so stuck in the weeds that they miss opportunities or warning signs.
They’re able to rise above the noise and chaos of their daily life or business to look at the road ahead.
Think of it like a ship at sea. If you’re so focused on the daily maintenance of the ship and never stop to look at the horizon, you can miss the rocks ahead.
Or have you ever experienced the humiliation of playing a video game with a child? Maybe you’re an aunt, uncle, or parent who complied with a child’s eager request.
Who always wins when you play against a child? The child.
Is it because they are smarter or faster? No.
It’s because they’ve played the game before.
They know that bad guys A, B, and C are going to pop out of specific locations. And they’re ready.
They know the road ahead and it’s the ultimate advantage.
When you know the road ahead you can anticipate.
Anticipation creates room for multiple ideas and facilitates strategy and preparedness.
Otherwise, you’re just reacting.
5. Leaders Fail
When people succeed, they party.
When people fail, they ponder.
What’s good about that?
It’s in pondering and searching that new ideas are created.
All your favorite athletes and the most successful companies all have had their moments of failure.
It’s in failure that we are called to pause and pay attention.
It’s in failure that we refine our ideas so something more creative, more beautiful, and more impactful can come forth.
When people succeed the first time, they never think twice about their approach.
If you’re not failing, you’re not trying new things. And you’re missing an opportunity to be better.
I sat down with Spanx founder Sara Blakely at my Business Mastery event, and do you know what she told me?
She told me that every day when she got home from school growing up that her father would ask her one question.
What was that one question?
What did you fail at today?
Because he knew the value of failing. And he never wanted the fear of failure to keep his daughter from trying.
Years of pitching her brand to department stores and hundreds of nos later, Sara became one of the youngest self-made billionaires, and her product is known around the world.
Failure doesn’t have to be the end, but the beginning of something truly great.
Remember leadership starts with yourself.
And great leadership starts with a servant mindset, execution, studying the success of others, anticipation, and not being afraid to fail.
Cheers to leading with greatness.
Original story published by Tony Robbins on LinkedIn.