Successful business leaders have traits in common

Adam Bryant is a Pulitzer Prize award-winning journalist at The New York Times who probably is best known for his long-running column “Corner Office.”

Over the years, Bryant discovered that there is a natural curiosity among readers about the people who make it to the top.

Since most of us don’t have the opportunity to share a meal — or even have a relaxed conversation — with a top CEO, Bryant has given us the perfect substitute.

His insightful book “The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed” gives readers the inside scoop on how business leaders think.

Bryant sat down with 74 CEOs, from companies as diverse as Accenture, Best Buy Co. Inc., Yum! Brands Inc. and Zappos.

He focused less on success strategies and more on the following three questions.

• How do you do what you do?

• How did you learn to do what you do?

• What lessons have you learned that you can share with others?

Traits CEOs share

So what do CEOs have in common?

According to Bryant, “They listen, learn, assess what’s working, what’s not and why and then make adjustments.

“They are quick studies, and they also tend to be good teachers because they understand the process of learning and can explain what they learned to others.”

And for anyone anxious to crack the code of how to rise to the top of an American business organization, it’s refreshing to learn that Bryant’s research indicates that the keys to success are not genetic.

Instead, he insists that the necessary traits “are developed through attitude, habit and discipline — factors that are within everyone’s control.”