10 things emotionally intelligent leaders do

Being a success in your life, no matter what it looks like to you, requires strategies, trial and error, and trying to know a little more today than you did the day before.

There is no better investment than putting the effort into growing as a person so you can be better for those who matter the most in your life.

With the vast amounts of information out there on this topic, there are a few key things I've noticed emotionally intelligent, successful people do.  People with these qualities also make hard hitting leaders in their environment.

From reading books, blogs, and being fortunate enough to meet some of these people, here are 10 things I've noticed above average people do.

Wake up early to accomplish important tasks

Our lives tend to get busy during the day, leaving us little time to focus on the bigger picture.  If we're not careful, we get stuck staying busy and becoming more average.

A good way to battle this challenge is to wake up a little earlier and focus on big and important tasks without the distractions everyday life brings.

This could be time to focus on a massive goal you can consistently hack away at during your own personal time.  With a career, kids, or spouse needing your valuable time, the early morning is a great time to accomplish great things.

Protect their time, mental energy, and focus

Successful people don't have time to waste on activities or people that do not get them closer to their goals.  They don't allow distractions to take over their lives.  They plan out their day and do not negotiate their important mental energy, time, or focus.

A person clear on their direction, will not be caught responding to emails, texts, or other forms of communication immediately.  It may be a while for their response because they don't check emails first thing in the morning during their focused blocks of time.  They don't immediately text you back just because you sent them an urgent message.  Their time and energy are precious, and they'll get to you when they're ready.  

Emails can be checked at the end of the day, when they aren't as focused, and they know this.

 Don't try to fit in

Emotionally intelligent people know that fitting in to the crowd can bring them down.  Trying to fit into a large group of people may be in our instincts, but in today's world, it can bring us down.  

You've seen the big group meetings where nothing gets accomplished.  There may be some really intelligent people in the group, but they somehow get dumber when a large group tries to meet.  People talk just to seem smart, hear themselves speak, or say things just to go along with the group.

The creative tasks get accomplished in strategic windows of opportunity.  Getting the overview of a meeting from someone else, or stepping up as leader in a meeting, making sure individuals give their honest open feedback, and having the awareness to keep group think at a minimum, are all things successful leaders do.

Successful people know that being themselves, standing out, and sharing their own unique view on the world, makes bigger impacts than taking the comfortable road fitting in.  

It's hard to fight breaking away from the crowd, and people will try to pull them back down, but the above average people know this and press on.

Tell people NO

The word no is a complete sentence.  People focused on their life don't give in and say yes to keep others happy.  This may upset others, but those who are successful know it's not worth the time and energy.   Being strategic in your life means taking the time to be thoughtful about who you spend time with.  The only way to get above average results, is stop being distracted by people who aren't worth your time.  

People who have nothing better to do than gossip, complain about their life, and never talk about ideas, are a sure way to keep you down.  Being emotionally intelligent, means saying no, a lot.

Surround themselves with like minded people

This falls in line with telling the wrong people no.  Humans have evolved to mimic others around us.  No matter how hard we try, it happens to everyone.  

To avoid this pitfall, getting rid of the people who bring you down is vital to your success in life.  People will gladly walk into your life and bring nothing but drama, wasting your time an energy.

Emotional intelligence requires methodical, critical thinking.  Since you become the people you spend the most time with, putting the time and focus into figuring out who needs to be removed from your life will accelerate your growth and progress toward your goals.

To even further accelerate yourself, finding people who bring you up, will make your life even better.  

Successful people know being the smartest person in the room becomes boring, even frustrating at times.  They check their ego at the door and welcome the growth and learning that comes from interacting with people more successful at all the same things  they aspire to achieve.

By keeping a close group of people who give you honest, constructive criticism, support, and engage in depth conversations, you can make massive leaps in life.

Take the time to go on a relationship fast from other people.  With these people removed, you can see if your life improves.  Once you get rid of negative influences, you can make room and discover the positive people.

Welcome feedback and criticism

What does the average person do when somebody criticizes them? They get defensive, throwing logical thinking out the window, and expend massive amounts of energy trying to prove the other person 

wrong.

Great leaders thrive on criticism and welcome it often.  After a while, it becomes a part of their routine.  They know the value of seeing if there's any validity in the critical comment.  They take what they could learn from it and leave the rest.  They take anything they can from it, and use it to improve themselves in the future.  

The more great things you accomplish, the more haters will expose themselves.  A hater's comments may be hard to accept, but it doesn't slow down successful people. 

 High achieving leaders have the emotional intelligence to see the critics for who they are.  They also know you can take criticism aimed you and get something from it.  They don't take it personal, and use it to the feedback to their advantage, no matter how harsh it may seem.

Actively seek out and improve their blind spots

Intelligent leaders know how easy it is to see other people's faults, and aware of the natural inclination to focus on other people, instead of working to improve their own life.

The average people sit around and talk about how other people are doing things wrong, and how they are never wrong.

On the other hand, taking an honest look at yourself, through an unfiltered lens is difficult.  Getting your head out of the sand and taking a hard look at yourself allows you to grow and not stay stuck in a never ending life of mediocrity.  

An intelligent person knows looking at past mistakes, current mistakes, or current bad habits is painful, but it gives them the ability to take charge of their life.  Past mistakes cannot be undone, but they can be learned from.  Instead of sitting around feeling guilty, they get to work creating changes to improve their life.

It's important to understand focusing on everyone else is a dead end and keeps you from growing.

Exercise

In order to think clearly, the body needs to move.   Our bodies are made for physical activity, we focus better, handle stress better, and feel better when we exercise.  

There was a reason people had pacing rooms hundreds of years ago to think and solve problems.  Some of histories greatest composers said that walks helped their creativity.

It doesn't have to be a lot, but a daily exercise routine helps us function better.  Successful people make time to do physical activity everyday.

A simple run in the morning is a great way to begin the day and get your mind right.  The mental clarity from running allows our mind to function the way it was intended.

Whether you meditate, think over problems, or relax while you exercise, having a routine helps keep your body operating the way it was designed.

Seek out challenges instead of waiting for them

The average person tries to do just enough to get by hoping nothing too challenging come their way.  They are on the defense and reactive in their life.

The people who get ahead, actively seek big challenges on purpose.  They know most people have average goals, and there are tons of people striving for the same things.  

Intelligent people know having a huge, ridiculous goal has little competition, leaving only themselves to compete with.  Even if they fail, the growth experienced going huge makes them a better person.

The successful  do not look to other people for their goals.  They take time to find out what they really want in life and go for it, and  they're comfortable defining what success means to them, not everyone else.

Create habits to free up focus

If you meet anyone at the top of their game, you'll find they have routines, like they're life is on auto pilot.  They are able to put massive amounts of energy and focus on their big goals because they've created habits, which free up their creative mind.  

Successful people don't have to battle themselves to get up in the morning and exercise, write books, or create businesses.  They've made it a daily ritual.  

They do many of the same things everyday, without even thinking about them.  Some people have 15 types of the same shirt, so they don't have to think about it.

The more things you can make a habit, the more energy and focus you can have on the things that matter the most. 

 If you want to accomplish something great, it will take massive amounts of brain power.  You will never be able do anything above average by using your valuable mental energy on average tasks.

These are 10 things I've noticed emotionally intelligent leaders do.  I've noticed the more I focus on these, the better my life gets.

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