Peek Inside The Heads of Amazingly Successful Leaders

Would you like to know what really goes on inside the heads of astoundingly successful leaders? Here is your chance. Part of the research for my book Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change? involved highly successful executives filling-out my Abilities & Behavior Forecaster? pre-employment test.

Each of the executives I tested had planned and implemented organizational change resulting in $10-million - $1-billion in profit improvement. They hail from America's best-run companies, including IBM, VF Corporation, Intuit, Ritz-Carlton, Outback Steakhouse, Campbell Soup, Excell Global Services, Robert Mondavi Corporation, and more. In other words, you will discover what the best-of-the-best leaders at top-notch companies really are like.

Optimism Fuels the Leader's Success Pessimism never won any battle (a quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower)

My research revealed the fact that absolutely fabulous leaders are incredibly optimistic people. These leaders consistently scored high on the Forecaster? test's Optimism scale.

This prompts the question: What is an optimist? In a book and audio-book I co-authored, "Spontaneous Optimism®: Proven Strategies for Health, Prosperity & Happiness", my co-author and I defined an optimist as someone who overwhelmingly

(1) focuses on solutions, not problems

(2) possesses a compelling vision for an exciting life

(3) spends most of his or her time working on goals to achieve the vision

(4) persists

(5) takes total self-responsibility for personal successes and failures

For example, Leonardo Inghilleri, senior vice president at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, emphatically told me, Optimism is absolutely significant. I'm an optimist in life -- both my professional and personal life. You have to be positive. Nothing positive is created through negative thinking.

Starting when I was a teenager, I always have had a personal mission statement to help me in my life. It helps me know where I'm going even when I am challenged.

Or, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

Highly Creative In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different (a quote from Coco Chanel).

Results on my Abilities & Behavior Forecaster? tests show that absolutely fabulous leaders are extremely creative. On the Forecaster? tests, the leaders' scores show a classic pattern for creative people: Specifically, they typically score both (1) low on the Following Rules scale (2) high on the Creativity Motivation scale

If you think about this, it makes perfect sense. After all, what is creativity? It is not always following all the rules, as shown in the leaders' low score on the Forecaster? test's Following Rules scale.

But, that is not enough. On top of that, these leaders also feel strongly motivated or enthused to do creative work. This is evidenced in their high score on Creativity Motivation. When you combine creative thinking with motivation to actually do innovative work, you wind up with the hallmarks of intensely creative people. Indeed, absolutely fabulous leaders certainly excel at conjuring up innovative, yet practical, solutions to propel their companies to vastly boost profits.

In fact, a chief reason for high-level success in business and in life is a person's ability to continually create desirable opportunities. General Douglas MacArthur summed this up when he pointed out, "There is no security in this life. There is only opportunity."

Tremendous Brainpower

To the dull mind, all of nature is leaden.

To the illuminated mind, the whole world sparkles with light (a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson).

Absolutely fabulous leaders usually are very, very smart people. This was verified in their scores on the Abilities & Behavior Forecaster? tests. Specifically, these amazing leaders scored amazingly high on the Forecaster? test's Problem-Solving scale. This scale measures a person's general level of intelligence or overall brainpower. The successful leaders also scored high on three other Forecaster? test scales of mental abilities, namely, Vocabulary, Arithmetic, and Grammar.

What does this mean for you? For starters, if you are a bright person, use your brains! If you have average intelligence, then do everything you can to boost your brainpower.

Take advantage of this old saying, "Use it or lose it." First, read books and articles to expand your mental horizons. Second, find absolutely fabulous leaders to be your role models. Carefully observe how they think through situations. Third, get the nutrition and rest you need to use your brain at its peak potential. Fourth, practice thinking through situations, and discuss your ideas with highly successful people who will help you sharpen your thinking. Overall, make sharp thinking into your habit.

What's in Your Head?

Now, you have the opportunity to examine yourself. How do you stack up compared to incredibly accomplished leaders? What precisely is your own level of optimism, creativity, and intelligent thinking? By peeking into the heads of magnificent leaders, you can use them as your role models when you decide how to improve what is inside your head.

© Copyright 2001, 2005 Michael Mercer, Ph.D.

Michael Mercer, Ph.D., is a consultant, speaker, and founder of The Mercer Group, Inc. in Barrington, Illinois. Dr. Mercer's "Abilities & Behavior Forecaster?" pre-employment tests are used by companies across North America. He delivers speeches and seminars at conferences and companies. He authored "Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change?" and also "Hire the Best -- & Avoid the Rest?". You can (a) subscribe to his free e-Newsletter at http://www.DrMercer.com or (b) call him at 847-382-0690.

---

Awaken the Leader in You: 10 Easy Steps To Develop Your Leadership Skills

"The miracle power that elevates the few is to be... Read More

Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 1, General Strategies for Unproductive Behavior

It happens easily. You're conducting a meeting and suddenly a... Read More

Abraham Lincoln Is Still Alive

Abraham Lincoln Is Still Alive President Jimmy Carter tells in... Read More

Leadership: Seed or Fruit?

Purpose: Learn immediately if you are fostering leadership or ignoring... Read More

The Code of the Conference Leader

Are your meetings generally a waste of time? Do you... Read More

Character -- Why It Matters In Leaders

"Character is much easier kept than recovered." -Thomas Paine"The best... Read More

Are You a Leader or a Manager?

President Ike Eisenhower once demonstrated the difference between leadership and... Read More

C4 Leadership: Taking Your Leadership (and your Life) from Good...To Explosive!

Chances are if you're interested in this post, you're looking... Read More

Leadership ? Push vs. Pull?

At your next staff meeting consider leading your team through... Read More

Career Advice for Business Leaders: Empowering Others

Many potential leaders in business sabotage themselves and their organizations... Read More

Leadership and Power - Being the Boss Doesnt Guarantee Either of Them

Some people mistakenly associate supervisory positions, or seats of power,... Read More

3 Aspects of Developing Leadership Skills

Everyone knows that great leaders are made, not born. However... Read More

Always Be Open To Learning

"We should not only use all the brains we have,... Read More

5 Tips to Help You Win Big & Become a Village Hero

A few years ago, I returned to my impoverished village... Read More

People Problems -- Understanding the Dueling Paradigms

You've spent the last 12 years riding your technical skills... Read More

The Flexible Leadership Workshop

The Leadership ChallengeLeaders in today's society are faced with an... Read More

The Compassion Paradox

Effective leaders are comfortable with paradox. They can call on... Read More

Leadership Success and its Greatest Barrier: the Law of Administrivia

Years ago, a very wise, and often cynical boss of... Read More

Dissolving Conflict Through Reframing

Reframing is looking at the situation with a new set... Read More

To be, or Not to be (Average)?

When is hate OK? When it's the feeling you have... Read More

The Three Faces of Leadership

This article was published in the Nov. 2003 edition of... Read More

Leadership Skills: Four Ways of Overcoming Perfectionism

We pay a high price for perfectionism. "What perfectionism?" we... Read More

Get Angry And Then Get Results

Leadership is not about winning a popularity contest, it's about... Read More

How To Party Like Leonardo Da Vinci

After studying scores of great thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci,... Read More

Sometimes Leaders Need to Get the Boot

Today I stood up to a guy right in front... Read More

Are You A Leader in the Chrysalis?

Let's get this straight at the outset?Leadership skills can be... Read More

Would Socrates Be A Celebrity Today?

Last week, as I was standing in the checkout line... Read More

Reinventing Failure: Designing Success

I am fascinated by problems. I like to think of... Read More

What Kind of Leader Are You?

You are a leader if someone is following you. This... Read More

Chris Top 7 Favorite Leadership Books

1. The West Point Way of Leadership.GREAT book by a... Read More

The Qualities of Skillful Leadership

If you want to be a leader who attracts quality... Read More

3 Dynamic Techniques To Boost Your Executive Leadership!

Here's a really simple way to measure the strength of... Read More

Using Your Intuition

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our... Read More