Whether you’re an owner, manager, or team member, these five behaviors can help you succeed

As a business consultant and entrepreneur, I’m often asked to help identify individuals who can lead a project, manage a new location, or join a startup at a leadership level. While I don’t claim any special abilities or secret formulas to predict who might fare well, there are five behaviors I’ve found common to the most successful folks I know and admire. If you’re a veterinary professional looking to improve your leadership skills or a team member seeking more responsibilities, working on these five traits can boost your chances of success and encourage colleagues to follow your guidance.

1 - First, focus on others

The best leaders I know put the needs of others above their need to succeed. While it may seem counterintuitive for someone seeking to lead others to focus on what “others” need first, it is a fundamental leadership trait. 

Jack Welch, the man who turned GE into the most valuable organization in the world during his 20-year tenure as CEO, said this when asked how to think like a leader: “When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”  

What many people get wrong about this concept is that you shouldn’t wait until you’re a leader to help others grow. In fact, Welch was commenting on how his definition of success impacted his trajectory as a business leader. Authentic leadership is less about achieving personal accomplishments and meeting individual objectives and more about elevating and assisting those around you.

You become a leader by listening to and helping your co-workers.

This week, ask yourself if you’re acting unilaterally or involving others when solving a problem or confronting a concern. Are you asking for input from colleagues and collaborating on decisions? Are you asking what their issues are or if they have demands they’d like help with? 

You earn the right to lead when you gain the support of your team.

2 - No trash-talking your team

Integrity tops the list of attributes we look for in leaders. That’s why when a superior crosses an ethical or moral line, we feel even more disappointed than when we transgress. 

When we sink to the level of workplace gossip, we signal to the team that we’re no different than anyone else. We’re willing to sling mud and sow dissent. That’s not leadership, that’s subversion.

To be a leader, we must critically evaluate if our words and actions foster unity and collaboration or create distrust and disharmony. 

Of course, we all feel the need to vent sometimes. And often, the person closest to the subject we want to complain about is a co-worker. The fact is that when we make negative remarks about others behind their backs, we undermine our ability to lead them. Leaders preserve personal integrity and don’t disparage their colleagues in their absence. 

At times, you will disagree with others or observe inappropriate acts. Leaders need to be seen directly (and civilly) engaging with someone they disagree with rather than resorting to making subversive comments among associates.  

And vent to a trusted friend or family member, not someone you work with, no matter how high up in the business hierarchy. 

When you need to make a correction or file a complaint, make it professional, not personal. Write the problem down, be specific, and provide at least three possible solutions. Be prepared to share what you believe is your best option and be ready to enact it if called upon. One day, you’ll be the leader and recall how helpful this process is in improving the workplace and solving problems.

3 - Speak up and step out

Many future leaders are identified when they speak up and step out. 

I’m not talking about blowhards who interrupt meetings with banal banter but those who provide thoughtful and insightful commentary. Even better, these budding bosses nearly always end their ideas with, “And I’ll be able to work on that if you’d like.”

If you’re more of the quiet, passive type seeking more responsibilities and leadership opportunities, realizing that your lack of visibility is likely hindering your progression is essential. Speaking up may be uncomfortable initially, but you must assert yourself and your ideas to get noticed. Even worse, by not sharing your potential solutions, your teammates don’t benefit from your suggestions. 

Be thoughtful and trust your instincts. Even if your ideas aren’t chosen, the fact that you’re offering them won’t go unnoticed by your coworkers and managers.

4 - Control your emotions

When I was in elementary school, my late father introduced me to the teachings of Norman Vincent Peale, the father of “the power of positive thinking.” My dad gave me a set of cassette tapes from his lectures called “Lead the Field” that I still cherish today. There was a letter-sized poster of one of his quotes I’ve kept with me ever since.   

“Direct your thoughts. Control your emotions. Ordain your destiny.”

I credit keeping that mantra close with much of my personal and professional success.

While I get that we’re not emotionless automatons and everyone has good and bad days, the reality is that leaders are held to a different standard when it comes to freely expressing our emotions. In fact, that’s one of the reasons the concept of “psychological safety” in the workplace has become popular. If your coworkers feel like their supervisor could blow up any moment or their moods are unpredictable and swing wildly, their ability as sustainable leaders is greatly diminished. 

I often see this as a problem with folks who describe themselves as “take-it-or-leave-it” or claim their style is “what-you-see-is-what-you-get.” 

Neither is suited for long-term successful leadership.

Keep your emotions measured and controlled, remain humble that your ideas may not be the best (or even relevant), and be aware that your reactions impact all those around you - all the time.  

And you’ll ordain your destiny.

5 - Accept feedback graciously

Positive and negative feedback is an opportunity to improve. It’s a gift. Adore it. 

The best want-to-be and current leaders are open to all feedback. They don’t get defensive and embrace the chance to change. They remain convinced that improvement is an infinite process and accept that they will encounter challenges and failure along the way. Even better, these people take feedback and get to work improving themselves. 

This growth mindset allows the best leaders to emerge and maintain their positions. Most get better over time due to this approach. 

Ask your coworkers and supervisors for feedback on areas you can improve. At first, you may not receive much candor, but if you persist, they’ll begin to give you insights to make you a better person. You can accelerate and enhance your leadership abilities by asking others to help identify your blind spots.

Wishing you leadership success,

Dr. Ernie Ward