Many people eagerly search for fast hacks to become successful in business. The truth is that being a great business leader is difficult, it can require years of training and experience as well as a good amount of luck.

Still, there are some habits that anyone can acquire to become slightly more effective in leadership positions — but those habits aren’t as simple as going to the gym three times per week. Leaders have particular patterns of behavior and personality that make them more successful in their business positions. Those habits most related to leaders’ success and most practical for wannabe great leaders to adopt tend to include:

A Commitment to Personal Development

Effective leaders know their own strengths and weaknesses, but more than that, effective leaders are consistently working to improve in areas important to their productivity and wellbeing. Personal development undeniably gives leaders new knowledge and skills to apply in their leadership roles; for example, this leadership and change online course provides leaders with tools and techniques for navigating any type of corporate transformation, which they will certainly need in the coming years. However, perhaps more significantly, personal development gives leaders clarity over their personal motivations and goals, which can help drive them to new heights in their careers.

Leaders interested in becoming effective and successful should strive to be self-aware, conduct self-assessments, and seek feedback on ways they can improve. Then, leaders can set attainable goals for their professional and personal lives — and they should hold themselves accountable for achieving those goals in an appropriate time frame.

A Devotion to Developing Others

A leader is accountable to more than themselves; they require a team to lead, and that team’s performance will reflect back on the leader. Thus, great leaders tend to be in the habit of investing time and resources into developing the best possible team. This involves identifying and acquiring top talent, but more importantly, it requires leaders to be willing to engage in behaviors that build the confidence and capabilities of their team, like delegating, coaching, and mentoring.

Effective leaders make training a top priority within their organizations, but they also recognize that a well-trained team is only useful as long as workers stick around. Thus, leaders also need to develop a workplace culture that allows employees to thrive. Leadership should balance assertiveness and kindness to ensure that effort put into coaching and training doesn’t go to waste.

A Focus on the Future

Business is always changing, and great business leaders know to remain focused on the future to prepare their organizations for what is to come. Leaders need to consider both internal and external factors affecting a business to make the correct strategic decisions for future success. While setting a strategic vision can guide an organization toward success, business leaders also need to remain flexible in their mindset and encourage innovation in their workforce, which will result in positive outcomes regardless of any changes businesses experience.

Strong Ethics

It is possible to become successful without adhering to business ethics, but leaders who ignore ethics are unlikely to be respected or particularly effective in the long term. Ethical leadership guides a company’s culture, setting an example for employee behavior that helps develop an organization’s reputation within its community. Thus, the best leaders are unwavering in their commitment to certain ethical principles and practices, offering their teams a strong ethical foundation from which they can grow.

Some ethical values that all business leaders should maintain include:

Honesty.
Leaders do not need to tell their teams everything, but what they do say should be accurate. This builds trust between leadership and the workforce.

Authenticity.
Leaders who manipulate their personality and behavior to achieve success often fail to build strong relationships with their employees. Behaving naturally builds stronger connections. Responsibility.
Leaders must be accountable not just for their own failures but also for the failures of their team. This generates a sense of integrity throughout the organization. People can try all sorts of unrelated career hacks, but they likely won’t be any closer to achieving true business success. The most effective leaders take action in ways that benefit themselves and those around them, and developing habits that improve oneself and one’s community will help one become a successful business leader.