Photo Credits, Tim Alamenciak

What is a defining characteristic you see in high-performing athletes, successful entrepreneurs, well-respected artists and high-level educators? The characteristic I see in all these individuals is present despite their different socio-economics, upbringing, education or experience levels.

It is PASSION.

I have spoken on the difference between a leader and a follower. Consider for a moment, how many successful leaders have you followed who have lacked passion or a drive to accomplish that which was in front of them? The answer is probably none.

Now consider where you are right now. What goal do you have for your business that you believe in so strongly, one you will go for despite all challenges and obstacles?

Accomplishing a dream and making a real change in the world around you is hard work. Steve Jobs said we have to have a lot of passion for what we do because if we don’t, any rational person would give up. I agree entirely.

Other successful entrepreneurs have said similar things on the importance of passion in work; Jeff Bezos said, “One of the huge mistakes people make is that they try to force an interest on themselves. You don’t choose your passions; your passions choose you.”

And when your passion is intertwined with love and the optimism of what could be, you will be driven to capture what most would think is impossible.  Mark Twain, I feel, said it best, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

See more of what Steve Jobs had to say on passion in this short video of his talk to entrepreneurs:

My passion is to see millions of people’s lives positively impacted through a social commerce platform that will redefine distribution as we know it.

I would love to hear what your passions are in the comment section below. Remember, when leaders are truly passionate, everyone around them who is part of their pursuit, feels that passion in themselves as well.

The post The Defining Characteristic appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

Photo Credits: MobilFunk7, Flickr

If you Google “What makes a great leader” you get about 26 million results. Aspiring leaders are inundated with advice on how to become one of the greats. It has been my experience as a leader of successful companies that great leadership comes not from daily “how-tos” but from a deeper internal makeup of the leader. This makeup can be summarized in four traits.

The first is vision. Vision is more than seeing the final product. It is seeing the steps along the way that bring you to the final product. It is understanding the implications of decisions throughout the development. A key differentiator, a great leader will act upon a vision while a good leader will admire the vision without action. Until there is action and dedication to the completion, a vision is nothing more than a dream.

The second is instinctive intelligence. Instinctive intelligence is being able to know things, see things and act upon things with an understanding that cannot be taught in a textbook. This is related to vision in that great leaders are able to see the entire picture, understand the implications and make judgments based on instinctual knowledge. This trait, while fundamentally based in instinct that a leader is born with, can be developed over time through thoughtful learning from past decisions and a deeper understanding of the industry inner workings.

The third trait all great leaders posses is persistence. There will never be a great accomplishment that comes easily without resistance. Persistence comes in all forms and great leaders need to have it in every situation. Persistence is tied to the previous two traits in that, someone who does not see the overall vision will not be able to see past the immediate disruption. A good leader could by delayed unnecessarily by a roadblock that seems overwhelming. A great leader will see beyond the roadblock to their final product and will use their instinctive intelligence to find a way around.

The fourth trait in all great leaders is a passion and a drive to win. Full-hearted belief in the vision, refusal to be stopped by resistance and an emotional connection to the end product creates a powerful passion in great leaders that cannot be rivaled by others. The vision becomes an integral part of these great leaders. It becomes part of their identity and they defend it and work towards its success as though it was a living piece of them.

What other traits do you think make a great leader? What do you believe is your strongest trait as a great leader?

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