Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: How Attitude Leads to Success

In CEOs Are Just Like You - Without All the Whining, we discussed the unique characteristics that drive people who start at the bottom and work their way up to be successful CEOs or business leaders.

A couple of days later I received a note from Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg who, along with current and former AT&T CEOs Randall Stephenson and Ed Whitacre, was featured in the story.

Ironically, it was Ivan's daughter who sent him the article. What caught her eye was the term 'whining', which is something the Seidenbergs try to avoid, according to the note. My kind of people.

Seidenberg thanked me for making his day by prompting his daughter to contact him. He went on to say, "I also know both Ed and Randall very well and they both are outstanding executives that follow your insights to a tee. They are great role models."

That prompted me to reread the article and what struck me this time around was this: with just one exception, the key drivers for successful CEOs were all self-fulfilling:

• They believe they're special, destined for great things. And, although they're just flesh and blood people like everyone else, that belief is often self-fulfilling.
• They have something to prove. The origin of that need isn't important, but the voice inside their head that motivates them is.
• They're like pit bulls with a vision. Once they find a vision they're passionate about, they never stop driving themselves - and their organization - toward it.
• They've experienced significant adversity in their lives. They know whining doesn't do any good but, but taking responsibility for solving problems does.

Now, those are all positive self-fulfilling characteristics or drivers. As you might expect, there are negative ones, too. "Being your own worst enemy," "shooting yourself in the foot," and "self-limiting behavior" are all terms that describe the results of negative self-fulfilling characteristics. Here are some examples:

• Playing the angry victim. You're always whining, there's always an excuse why things don't work out for you, and it's always someone else's fault, never yours.
• Too much fear, anxiety, and self-doubt. Some amount is normal, but when the voices inside your head are too loud, they can have real, negative, self-fulfilling consequences.
• Being too much of a control freak. Trying to get a handle on a chaotic and scary workplace is normal, but too much and it becomes self-limiting or even self-destructive.

On the other hand, when your behavioral attributes limit your willingness to take risks, denigrate others, are too out of sync with reality, and you delude yourself into believing you're entitled to something you're not, that's when you get into trouble.

If you find that's too difficult or complex a distinction to make, forget the theory and look at it empirically: just ask yourself how you're doing? If your career is going great, you're probably in the positive realm. If not, well, then you've got some serious work to do, my friend. It's all in the attitude.

Also check out:

• How Desperation Drives Highly Successful People
  
• What Separates the Haves From the Have-Nots
• 10 Things That Good Bosses Do