There is a misconception that high performance and ultimately, the ability to succeed as an entrepreneur, is somehow an innate ability and successful business leaders are merely born that way.

In reality, however, there is no ideal personality archetype that ensures success, but there are certain characteristics that define the way many high achievers approach business.

An appetite for risk

Launching a new business venture is an inherently risky process, requiring you to essentially put your money where your mouth is. There are countless successful entrepreneurs and business leaders that have had careers marked by multiple failures, and starting a business then successfully growing it means a real willingness to take risks along the way – even when some of those risks do not go as planned.

However, this doesn’t mean simply throwing caution to the wind and jumping into a potential risky situation headfirst. Rather, an appetite for risk in business must be balanced with a healthy understanding and approach to potential pitfalls and setbacks.

Success in this respect does not require absolute precision. Former CEO of investment management firm, Renaissance Technologies, Robert Mercer famously reported that their Medallion Fund was correct only 50.75% of the time across the millions of trades it oversaw, yet this level of accuracy was more than sufficient to generate billions in profit.

Rather than aiming for absolute certainty or precision, a focus on developing a strategic mindset and cultivating good business acumen are essential features of being able to take the risks than are most worthwhile, while also identifying the potential risks within your current business model and operations.

Being accountable

‘Accountability’ is a word often thrown around within the context of business, but as a business leader it ultimately comes down to two important aspects: integrity and discipline.

Integrity in business requires consistently doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. Keeping to your word and approaching all of your interactions with this sense of integrity is not just important to your own reputation and professional relationships, but it also filters through your entire business and how it operates.

A company that operates with integrity at the forefront is one which creates an environment of openness, which in turn feeds directly into accountability where people own both their decisions and their work.

Accountability is also inextricably linked with discipline. It’s not enough to say you commit to something without the intention of truly following through with what you say, and fostering a culture of discipline for both yourself and your organisation at large means getting clear on responsibilities, and making a commit to stick to them.

Never stop learning

One of the greatest aspects of starting your own business is discovering your ‘eureka!’ moment and then going on that journey. The most successful entrepreneurs are those that commit fully to the adventure that is being in business, and this means drawing motivation – even when times are tough – by an ongoing sense of curiosity and discovery.

Being open to learning new skills, or refining existing ones, discovering new ways of doing things, and a willingness to listen to differing points of view are all important aspects of cultivating not only personal development, but also a similar culture within your team and wider business.

A leader who constantly challenges themselves and their ways of operating is far more likely to take a positive approach to innovation within their company.

Becoming set in your ways can be a precursor to stagnation. Instead, embrace curiosity and commit to continuously challenging assumptions, even if this means revisiting first principles and questioning established methods and prevailing market practices. This appetite for knowledge and new ways of doing things is an important part of always striving for that next level of success.

Sending the lift back down

One of the most rewarding aspects of enjoying success in any area of life is the ability it grants you to help others on their own way up, and this is no different in business.

Think back through your entrepreneurial journey and all of the people that have influenced and motivation you on your own path. Business success is something that is rarely reached alone, and having achieved that success, it’s important to invest in an approach to raising up those around you.

Starting with your own business, identifying high performers within your own organisation is one such way of ‘sending the lift back down’ by empowering people to reach their full potential while tapping into talent. Supporting and investing into those who are striving for greatness can pay great dividends in the long run, too, as the impact and leverage they can create are invaluable.

Final thoughts

There is no magical formula or attributes that guarantee success in business, but instead, rather than a set of immutable, inbuilt traits, what really sets high performers apart is their approach to both business and how they conduct themselves as business leaders – and these traits can be learned and cultivated like any other skill.

Leading with accountability, discipline and with genuine curiosity and motivation are not only prerequisites for your personal success but also help to build organisations where these qualities are always at the forefront.

Serge Santos is owner and CEO of Funding Alternative Group and Compressed Air Centre.