What do you think are the most important qualities for someone to excel?

Hi Mohsin,

Thanks for a great question! It's very hard to attribute success or excellence to a single (or even a few) characteristics. As I see it, it's the 'whole package' that makes someone really stand out from the crowd and be seen as exceptional. In other words, having unique set of characteristics and personal point of view. However, in my experience there are a few things in common among high-performing people:

1. Top performers have a growth mindset and are not 'paralyzed' by setbacks. Instead, they use setbacks as learning experience to build themselves up stronger. This includes accepting that things will inevitably change and prepare themselves accordingly (be it learning new skills to provide more value or staying calm in the face of uncertainty

2. Top performers are proactive in taking up responsibility - even for things that are outside of their control. In my experience, the value a person brings (to society or organization) is directly linked to how much responsibility he or she is ready to take up. Sometimes it would mean having the autonomy to drive things forward, while other times it would mean to simply get the initiative (or problem resolution) going.