5 Qualities of Top Performers

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People who move up ‘the ladder’ quickly have a few things in common. You may notice this in people you admire; managers, team leaders, business owners, yourself. You may also notice this in people you don’t admire; people that have somehow got that promotion or landed the big project and yet they don’t have the qualities you would expect in a leader.

Well it doesn’t take a leader to ‘climb the ladder’ of success, but it does take a few other qualities. If you want to climb with them then work on these 5 qualities. If you want to exceed them then work on being an amazing leader (check out John C. Maxwell’s new book “The 5 Levels of Leadership” for help with that).

1. Stop Doing All the Work

If you are worth $75/hour then stop doing the work that you could pay someone else $20/hr to do. If it takes you 2 hours to do something you could pay an expert $75 to do in one hour then hire the expert. As Darren Hardy has said, “Stop trading your time for money and start trading your money for time.” If you want to do amazing things you will need your time to truly focus on what you want to achieve.

2. Have a Giant Goal

Make it something that stretches you and takes you out of your comfort zone. Treat it as if it is real and emanate. Visualize it, describe it and work out exactly what it means to you. Maybe you will purchase your first house as a single person at 24, take your the family for 2 weeks to Disney, pay off your $60k school debt in 2 years, or maybe you expect to become the head of the department or the CEO. You want something that feels real and will help you stay motivated.

3. Invest in Yourself First

No matter what you do, where you are, how old you are, or who you are with, if you are not healthy and constantly gaining knowledge then you are in trouble. In this conceptual age you will be required to know more and more. Get on the learning train and stay on. Learn about your business, industry, competition, wellness, technology, etc. I am not suggesting you need to be an expert at everything, in fact quality #1 takes care of hiring experts to do what you should not be doing. You need to understand what is changing, what is relevant, and what is going to affect you or your business.

4. Have a Destination

Always know what short term goals you are working towards. Set 2-3 goals that will add to your bottom line. Goals like; add 6 new clients in three months, increase online list by 1000 people in one campaign, hire a marketing specialist by the year end. Break down your goals into monthly and weekly goals and then define 2-3 daily actions to help you achieve those goals.

Example – For the goal of 6 new clients in 3 months – that is 1 new client every 2 weeks (approx.). You may need to attend 3 networking events to generate 10 prospects and then make 10 calls to get 1 new client. That means you need you will have to go to 3 networking events every two weeks and be making at least 5 calls a week to the prospects you had qualified at those events.

5. Tell Someone

You cannot do this in isolation. My best suggestion is to get an accountability partner, someone you can tell what is happening and that will give you honest insight and feedback. Think about the people you know have made it to the top. Many of them belong to elite clubs to be among their peers and find those people that can provide their level of support. You only need to find someone at the same level of success as you.

Make an agreement to connect daily (no longer than weekly) and spend 5-10 minutes discussing what you have accomplished, what you have to do, and what you will do next. Make sure you call them out if they are not meeting their goals. Your best accountability partner is one that will not only hold you accountable but is also willing to be accountable.

Climb the ladder with those that know how and keep on climbing by becoming the best leader you can.