Characteristics of Successful Individuals: An In-Depth Analysis
1. Introduction to the Study of Success
The ability to achieve goals and attain significance often leads individuals to define success; however, the methods and resources used to measure a person’s achievements and success can greatly vary across different cultures, social contexts, and time periods. Consequently, the pursuit and expression of “success” can often be an extraordinarily personal endeavor. Regardless of these differences, the unifying factor of a successful person almost always largely boils down to their mental and physical capabilities. Scholars require an exhaustive study on this topic to establish beyond doubt the necessary traits an individual must possess to become successful irrespective of an individual’s background, culture, or historical period.
This is the first in an ongoing study about the characteristics of successful people. Success has been identified by thousands and embodies the quintessential person of success. We usually don’t think about success in terms of a set of personal traits. There are too many cultural events, physical attributes, possessions, pure luck, acts of God, and financial ability that create success independent of the capabilities of the person. A person born in the United States is in a better position to succeed than a person born in Bangladesh. A person born in despicable poverty is not in a strong position to buy computer software, but a person born in the United States to moneyed parents is at a considerable advantage. And, in many, but not all cases, a certain amount of money can buy success (to a point). However, if you look at people who have succeeded and are considered leaders, you will find a limited number of personal characteristics these leaders possess.
2. Key Personal Characteristics of Successful Individuals
Many qualities and behavioral patterns are often seen to be shared amongst many successful people, leading them to the achievement of their goals. For example, in one of the articles identified that five key personal characteristics of successful individuals are ambition, pragmatism, determination, creativity, and leadership. Many researchers on leadership have also found that there is no definitive list of qualities that leaders possess, as they vary greatly depending on cultural context and other factors in play. However, the following characteristics are often observed to be shared by successful individuals. In the business context in particular, analysts and managers suggest that successful individuals commonly display the following qualities: an awareness of what they are trying to achieve and an understanding of how their actions move them; they are often ambitious, independent-minded, and creative; they are able to adapt to different situations and are good at getting things done (and will rise to challenges).
also suggest that “successful individuals are hard workers”. The ability of getting the job done is seen in business as being good leadership. Every business will value different leadership qualities. Adaptive qualities are important, or the ability to “hit the ground running” and adapt to different demands such as people, corporate traditions, and cultural differences. Other traits were recognized by Rea, that includes being able to think fast and think ahead and being responsible for themselves and the outcomes of their decisions, as “characteristics found in inventive and innovative individuals who have been influential in their fields”. But innovation does not automatically mean success. Although innovation is a prerequisite for a successful local retail business, it must be managed in tune with customers and meet their expectations. In a sports management context, the following, in particular, are examples of athletes displaying characteristics of successful management. Suzy Wetlaufer, a senior-level manager at the time, emphasized Jack Welch’s style of leadership and team building when she was first meeting head Alexandre Vinokourov. He displayed leadership and team building in his management style that influenced her management style. Other managers also paid close attention to Welch as the GE Chairman, as a leader who models the behavior that is proven to get it done.
3. The Role of Resilience and Perseverance in Success
Although there are numerous attributes that define a successful individual, we can classify them into three main groups. A successful individual always presents proficiency in what they do, possesses an abundance of self-confidence and social skills, and handles themselves professionally regardless of the situation. It has been observed that success is primarily driven by hope, strength, and optimism. These individuals can overcome obstacles, take advantage of opportunities, move toward and achieve their life goals, and engage in work and activities that they perceive as important. A successful individual is proactive and has high self-motivation, seeking continuous improvement and being more interested in innovation and creativity.
Resilience is the ability to recover from obstacles and adapt quickly to change, ultimately capitalizing on positivity (e.g., emotional or cognitive solution). To achieve success, individuals must have the ability to handle failure, rejection, or serious setbacks. Resilience provides us with emotional and cognitive responses, allowing us to face risk, danger, and adversity. Resilience enables us to suppress stress, decrease regret and anxiety, and face danger. By reducing stress, resilience has the capability to promote the development of stress and multiple physical disorders. Perseverance is defined as an individual’s commitment to performing actions in the achievement of set goals. It is thought that natural indefatigability is a fundamental trait in mounting the ladder of success. Some of the most successful individuals in human history have experienced profound failure. The downfall in their professional life could have been as a result of industrial hardship, unjust treatment, or personal challenges.
4. Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Success
Finally, the last factor we will look at is emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence consists of the components self-awareness (reading your own emotions), self-management (handling one’s own emotions), social awareness (recognizing others’ emotions), and relationship management (interacting successfully). It is assumed that success in work and careers is dependent on emotional intelligence. This also counts for decision-making. Rational and emotional thinking must, therefore, go hand in hand. Golman (1995) argues, for example, that leaders are successful insofar as they have a high emotional competence. Similarly to stress management programs, some importance is given to training one’s own and others’ emotions.
Bar-On (1997, as cited in Bar-On, 2000) added to this the assumption that a person’s emotional quotient (EQ) is more important than his intelligence quotient (IQ) in determining his/her outstanding performance, including decision making. Those with average or high IQ usually find decision-making and other cognitive tasks challenging, but people with high EQ do not let their feelings become an obstacle to performing. Bar-On (1997) attributes 80% of his subjects’ outstanding performance (in business, political, academic or scientific, and creative life) to EQ and only 20% to IQ. The good news is that emotional intelligence can be nurtured and developed over time.
5. Conclusion and Implications for Personal Development
The discussion in the first sections revealed several personal characteristics and traits that appear to be particularly important for determining an individual’s success in life. In more detail, successful people tend to exhibit more openness and curiosity than average, and according to a study, measures of curiosity correlate highly with measures of intelligence. Openness to experience is also tied to other desirable skills such as worldliness that can serve one in negotiating cross-cultural situations.
In a study of multiple indexes of openness, of the five aspects to Openness, only boredom proneness and interest in variety failed to correlate positively with various measures of success. Unsurprisingly, ambitious individuals seek knowledge, culture, and new experiences. Finally, creative people are also very interested in the arts, form, and culture. These connections suggest a way in which the characteristics of successful individuals might be not only desirable but also attainable. Indeed, others have taken self-development in just this area as their life’s work.
Given the importance of these personal traits and characteristics in determining success, the hierarchy might offer some guidance on self-improvement for those who are not yet successful. Given their importance for job growth, success, job satisfaction, and performance, it is suggested that companies target the psychologically rich (as opposed to, for example, materialistically rich) portion of the applicant pool.
