8 Traits Needed To Be The Best In Your Profession

Have you ever wondered what it would take to be the very best at what you do in an industry that has been around 50 years?  All leaders have.  Recently, I was reading the 1972 Hall Of Fame induction speech of Gino Marchetti by then Baltimore Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom.  Rosenbloom gives us a great picture into what is needed to be the absolute best in your profession.

Marchetti played defensive end for the Dallas Texans (now Dallas Cowboys) and Baltimore Colts.  When the NFL announced its all-star team of their first 50 years, he was picked as the finest player ever at his position.  The following are excerpts from Rosenbloom’s speech.  Leaders, regardless of your profession, we can learn much from this football legend. 

1. “An Outstanding and Unending Committment to Excellence” – For apex leaders, the standards they set for themselves are higher than any set by others.
2. “A Willingness to Submerge Himself Individually Within a Group Effort” –  Are you more interested in your personal success or that of your teams you lead?  The goal of top level leaders is to get your entire team across the finish line.
3. “Courage” – Leadership requires taking one more step into a future that is unknown.
4. “An Acceptance of Pain” – There are perks to leadership and there is a price to leadership.  Leaders have to be willing to pay the price of pain.
5. “A Love For What He Is Doing” – A successful person is somebody that loves to do something and is smart enough to get somebody to pay him to do it.
6. “A Notation of Achievement” – What is your leadership marked by?  Is it marked by success or constant disappointment?
7. “Respect For Worthy Adversaries” – We live in a competitive world and you are not up against chopped liver out there.  The quality of your achievement is largely determined by the level of your competitioin and what is needed for success.
8. “The Realization That Not All In Life Can Be Success and Victorious” -  Successful people are not the ones who never get knocked down.  They are the ones who simply get up one more time than those who don’t. 

Leaders, how many of these eight traits do you have?  If nothing else, this at least gives you a glimpse into the leadership areas you need to develop. 

My hope for you is that perhaps something on this list will be the one thing you’ve been looking for that will make you the absolutely best at what you do!  Let me know if this helps you.

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