I’ve been coaching high performers all over the world since 2010, from startups fighting for momentum to senior execs focused on increasing market share while also dealing with hundreds of employees and creating a culture to keep them happy and help them thrive.
The industries change but the people don’t. People think “it’s different here” whether they are in the Middle East, Europe or the US. But what I have seen over the past 15 years is the behaviors, habits and pitfalls stay the same, across industries and across continents.
What are the inner traits of those who consistently perform at a high level? It’s almost always the same and it always starts on the inside. People love to think it’s the external forces that hold them back, but in fact it’s almost always internal forces. And worse still – it’s self-generated internal forces.
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Consistent curiosity
Many leaders today mistake “being busy” for productivity and performance. They think they are moving the needle but most of the time is spent in distraction mode instead of creative mode. The highest performers I have seen and work with operate from a place of clarity, certainty and what I call consistent curiosity.
Awareness is key when agility and speed are such a priority in the fast-changing world we live in today – so to be a high-performer you must be willing to stay curious and avoid the trap of unquestioned conclusions, which will condemn you to world of mediocrity and repeated mistakes and poor functioning systems.
What’s inside a high-performer’s mind
Below are a couple of philosophies I embed in my high-performers minds when they want to become the best, hire the best and stay the best.
- They’re visionary, not realist
Visionaries see further. A visionary leader is willing to look beyond what the current evidence shows, or what the past standards have been. A visionary leader wants to disrupt the present not just stay in it. Being visionary doesn’t mean simply setting “unrealistic expectations”, instead it means asking questions others aren’t willing to ask.
What if we broke out of our current patterns and habits as an organization and raised the standard – what could be possible? What if we redefined the roles of our teams and got them to first identify and then execute solely on what they do best and what can contribute the most to our ultimate goal?
What if we removed distraction and instead hyper focused on our intention for a season, what could we accomplish?
What could we achieve if we developed our leaders and helped them develop the skills and awards they need to lead and influence at a higher level?
How can we improve communication, and our ability move the needle at scale when representing our brand?
Visionaries ask better questions and make less conclusions and that is a major change maker within an organization. Visionaries also have the courage to act on the answers they come up with and to act fast. Success loves speed and visionaries understand the power of urgency.
- They invest in themselves regularly
Most people today work hard on their jobs, but don’t work at all on themselves. They spend more time on their phones than on reading a book and developing their mindset. High performers, visionaries, are different. High level people know they don’t know it all.
They know there are things they can’t see and that there are gaps in their potential and in their execution. Truthfully, we can’t see it all, our brains love shortcuts, reflexes and familiarity – because it saves energy. Your brain loves the path of least resistance, so it tends to go where it always goes and looks where it always looks. To be a high performer you don’t have the luxury of assuming all will be okay as it is.
It takes massive energy and focus to go against the grain, to walk a new path and to think differently, this is why high-performers invest in mentorship and strategic coaching and advisory – so they can get new ideas in their head, so they can combine someone else’s knowledge with their expertise and so most importantly they can be held accountable to make the changes needed and to stick to it.
They don’t see personal development as a luxury or as something you do when you get to where you want to be, they recognize it’s what’s going to get them there faster, they know it will be what saves them time, energy and money. They know it’s the multiplier.
- They don’t sacrifice people for profits
The best leaders I’ve worked with care deeply about people. Not just on paper, but in person. Unfortunately, it’s not as common to see as you’d hope, but that gives great opportunities to stand out in the marketplace and have a reputation that attracts the best people.
Companies often talk a good game about culture, and they present a great front on socials – but do they implement day to day? And do they do it consistently.
It is well known that it is hard to find good people, but it can be even harder to keep them. A culture of communication, recognition and creativity can be powerful for leaders to have in their teams and for companies as a whole.
Oftentimes as companies grow, the people can get lost in the day-to-day, time passes and before you know it, your top people are frustrated, disengaged or completely disconnected. Good people will be easily taken by the promise of being recognized more and treated better. Whether it’s true or not, it’s all about perception and it’s a leader’s job to stay out in front of this.
Great leadership starts from the very top, down.
Winning is a must but never forget that the long game is human. Clarity, community, high energy and being part of a big, exciting vision – these are currencies that compound results over time.
- They build a high-performing culture
You can feel it the moment you enter a high-performance environment. There’s a rhythm. A standard. A shared energy. That doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built through repetition, example, and consistent realignment.
It’s evident by a company’s willingness to invest in the people and by how important consistent growth and personal development is. How present is the topic of growth and development within your organization?
Culture can’t be intermittent, and you definitely don’t land there accidentally. It must be intentional and deliberate. A creative, high standard culture is created in house every single day, through how leaders and their teams show up, what they tolerate, and what they reward and recognize.
You must build an environment where people know what’s expected, what their roles are and what their reward is, as a whole and individually. People need to be heard, otherwise they shouldn’t be hired. People need to be seen, and performers need to be recognized and celebrated.
There must be clarity, accountability and respect at all times.
- They don’t wait for permission
One of my non-negotiables of exceptional leadership is: You can’t wait to be knighted a leader. You must move first. High performers and leaders move. They take action from clarity, and with certainty. It’s not about being reckless, it is about not standing still and waiting. Waiting is not a strategy.
This is for founders and business owners as much as the senior managers within an organization – you must trust yourself. You must trust your experience, your expertise, the skills you have mastered, the insights you have gained and most importantly trust your intuition.
You have earned your place at the table and your title, but your title means nothing if you don’t trust yourself to act on your insights and intuition. Great leaders trust themselves and they trust their teams. That trust is earned. Built through wins collected over time.
This courage and willingness to act comes from knowing who you are and what you have done and acting from that place consistently.
This is why identity work matters. Because when you know who you are, what you have done and what you do best – decisions get faster. Pressure gets lighter. Performance gets cleaner and becomes effortless over time. When all stations are aligned and empowered like this, that’s when the multiplier effect really comes to life, transforming what were once visionary targets into becoming our new standards.
Final thoughts
High performance starts with awareness. You must know who you are and who you’re not. You must know what the 5 percent tasks are, and actions that create real change and what the 95 percent tasks are that must be delegated or eliminated.
You must be able to read between the lines and see behind the curtain of what people are really saying, doing and feeling and then know how to effectively move them in the direction you want with language, reward and recognition. This goes for both people in your organization and for those in the marketplace who you want to influence.
Clarity, strategy and accountability
Whether you’re in year one of a startup or leading a multinational, the same core truths apply: Your results will never outpace your relationship with yourself and your ability to build and enhance relationships with your teams and with your clients.
Clarity, strategy and accountability are your keys to massive, consistent growth.
About the author
Aidan O’Brien is a globally respected strategic advisor, executive mentor, and keynote speaker who has delivered transformational work to nearly 1 million people globally, including sales teams in the UAE generating over €50 million annually, and worked with Fortune 500s, billion-dollar direct sales firms, and high-growth startups across five continents.
