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What core qualities most accurately indicate you’ll be a successful leader?

They aren’t necessarily what you’d expect.

When you consider iconic leaders like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, you probably think of charisma, unwavering confidence, and an insatiable desire to bring about transformative change.

But it turns out these oft-cited qualities are more exceptions than rules when it comes to defining great leaders. The best leaders actually possess a unique set of qualities that may seem counterintuitive at first.

We’ve compiled a list of five unexpected character traits and behaviors associated with successful leaders. Check them out below to see if you’re on track to become an effective leader.

5 Surprising Qualities of Successful Leaders

1) The best leaders doubt themselves.

Although it might seem counterintuitive, embracing self-doubt and learning to accept your insecurities can have a profoundly positive effect on your ability to lead. Self-doubt prevents us from taking too many big risks, helps us examine our own actions more critically, and enables us to make more realistic decisions.

But welcoming self-doubt into your life doesn’t mean letting your inner critic tear you down at every turn. Tara Mohr, the author of Playing Big, says the key to using self-doubt to your advantage is learning to separate your negative inner critic from the voice of realistic thinking that keeps you grounded and pushes for self-improvement.

“The inner critic will tend to be very repetitive and like a broken record, saying the same thing over again,” Mohr said to Harvard Business Review. “It might be: There’s no way this is going to work. There’s no way this is going to work.“

In contrast, the voice of realistic thinking forces us to productively examine tough questions and get real with ourselves. “The voice of realistic thinking will not be repetitive,” Mohr said. “It’s forward moving. So it might sound like: I’m getting some clues that I am really not managing this team that well.“

Self-doubt keeps our egos in check and prevents us from getting too comfortable in positions of power. Leaders who are open to tough questions about their own abilities are more deft at adapting to change and constantly improving themselves.

2) The best leaders don’t try to be completely independent.

The conventional portrait of a leader would have you believe they’re an entirely self-sufficient, aggressively independent breed — fearless pioneers with the answers to questions you haven’t even asked yet.

In reality, great leaders know they can’t do everything on their own, and they don’t try to. They forge meaningful connections with their team, seek conflicting opinions, and cultivate an environment conducive to everyone’s success — not just their own.

A collaborative — rather than independent — model of leadership isn’t just good for your team’s morale, it’s good for business. Check out this infographic from The Collaborative Lead Training Co. below to see how a collaborative leadership style stacks up against a traditional, independent model:

3) The best leaders know when to let go (and how to do it).

Leadership is too often thought of in terms of power and control, when in practice, great leaders know when to step back and let go of power and control. Managing employees means offering direction, guidance, and support — not touting authority and supervising every detail.

Mark Boncheck, the CEO of Shift Thinking, thinks leaders can learn a lot about letting go from traditional military strategy. “Over centuries, the military has developed an approach to managing ‘the fog of war,'” Boncheck wrote in Harvard Business Review. “Generals need to ensure alignment to the strategy, while soldiers need autonomy to respond to changing conditions.”

To manage this tension between control and autonomy, Boncheck devised a two-part system intended to keep everyone on the same page without compromising their ability to respond to change.

The first part is commander’s intent, which is the core purpose and goal of an operation. In business, the commander’s intent often takes the form of a mission statement or high-level  organizational goals.

The second part is the doctrine, which Boncheck says many leaders fail to account for. The doctrine is made up of the “principles [that] guide actions in support of objectives.” In a business sense, the doctrine empowers employees to make independent decisions by telling them how to approach the company’s goals, i.e., what behaviors are appropriate in pursuit of a goal.

When leaders communicate a doctrine to their employees, they don’t have to constantly oversee employee activity. They can step back confidently knowing that their employees are well-equipped to handle any given situation with a guiding set of principles.  

4) The best leaders are predictable.

Leaders are expected to be transformative, innovative geniuses who are constantly breaking new ground … right? Wrong. A study from Google found that the opposite might be true.

When Google’s human resources team dug into what qualities made leaders successful at their company, they found something surprising: The quality that best indicated whether or not a leader would be successful wasn’t their extroversion, their propensity to stir up change, or even their IQ — it was their predictability.

“If your manager is all over the place, you’re never going to know what you can do, and you’re going to experience it as very restrictive,” Laszlo Bock, senior vice president of people operations at Google, said to Inc. “[I]f a leader is consistent, people on their teams experience tremendous freedom.”

When leaders are predictable, the people they manage have the room to progress independently and make autonomous decisions without having to worry about feedback from left field. Employees who operate beneath predictable leaders don’t have to brace themselves for abrupt changes or pivots in expectations. Instead, they are given “the mental space to do great work,” as Bock put it.

5) The best leaders are open to outside influence.

We often judge leaders by how solid they stand by their opinions and principles, and how unmoving they remain in the face of challenges that threaten these beliefs. But the best leaders understand that being influenced by outside forces isn’t a weakness, it’s a key strength.

Organizational psychologist Roger Schwarz found the most effective leaders were those who were genuinely open to being influenced, and were transparent about how exactly they could be influenced.

“[W]e get much better results if we hear from and are influenced by those who are in different positions and have different perspectives, rather than relying only on the thoughts of those in power,” Schwarz wrote in a recent Harvard Business Review article.

Schwarz explains that the most highly-developed leaders are fully transparent about what kind of information or arguments influence them. “At this level, you are a full partner in helping others influence you,” Shwarz wrote. “You tell others what kinds of information will lead you to change your mind.”

In this mindset, the best leaders approach challenges to their opinions and beliefs from the position of facilitator, rather than opponent. They help others understand why exactly they disagree, and how their opinion can be changed.

What unexpected qualities do you think great leaders possess? Tell us in the comments.

To all the conference-goers out there, we’d like to pose a question. What’s your mission?

With so many benefits of attending and goals to focus on during a conference, choosing just one can be a tall order. And with INBOUND 2016 around the corner, you might be asking yourself: Should you network, and make connections with smart people? Or should you stick to learning, and diligently take notes during the breakout sessions?

Whatever it is that you’re hoping to accomplish, we’ve carved out personas for the 15 types of conference-goers you’re most likely to meet or embody. We’ve all met at least one, and understanding them can help you figure out your goals for attending.

So which type of conference attendee are you? Check out the list below to find out.

15 Types of People You’ll Find at a Conference

1) The Networker

Source: Giphy

Mission:  Meet smart people.

The networker aims to meet and make lasting connections with other industry professionals. Chances are, they have a lot of connections on social media and have connected to attendees through the conference hashtag ahead of time.

The networker is likely to be found chatting up multiple groups of people during happy hour, handing out business cards or making real-time LinkedIn connections. But if this conference-goer sounds like you, just make sure you’re up-to-date on your networking game — common mistakes are easier to make than you might think.

2) The Sponge

Source: Giphy

Mission: Learn everything possible.

The sponge attends conferences to soak up every ounce of knowledge that he or she can. You’ll probably see this person juggling a laptop, smartphone, and notebook, all while diligently taking notes — or live-tweeting — from each.

But for the sponge, the struggle is real — how can you possibly decide which sessions to attend? I mean, they’re all just so great.

3) The Innovator

Mission: Be inspired.

We all know the type. They watch TED Talks on a daily basis. Their favorite book, collectively, is Water Isaacson’s Steve Jobs. And  they — or you, for those of us who can relate  — fall into the “innovator” category.

Innovators attend conferences in hopes of striking a creativity streak. Entrepreneurs, thinkers, and problem solvers would fall under this bucket — people who seek inspiration for their next brilliant idea or invention.

4) The Collector

Mission: Accumulate a stockpile of free swag. 

Also known as the “Trick-or-Treater,” this person hops from sponsor exhibit to sponsor exhibit collecting unnecessary amounts of free swag. I mean, sometimes all you really need in life is a free koozie. Oh, and a sticker. And a pen. And one of those squishy stress ball things.

Sure, this person might’ve come to a conference to learn and bring back information to their team, but they‘re definitely not going to skimp on the free stuff while they have a chance. You’ll likely see this attendee arrive with a half-full carry on suitcase … and then leave with an over-stuffed mess that won’t fit into the airline’s luggage sizer.

5) The Superfan

Mission:  Meet the keynote speakers.

The superfan is also super active when it comes to conference-related social media activity. This person never forgets to include the speaker’s Twitter handle in hopes that he or she will retweet or reply — for example, tweeting with event’s hashtag that they’re “so excited to meet @speaker.” Not that we’ve ever done that, or anything. 

And if there’s a chance to meet the speaker at the conference — like a book signing, for example — the superfan is first in line with every piece of memorabilia he or she can find. Again … not that we’ve ever done that …

(Superfan PSA: This year’s INBOUND lineup includes Anna Kendrick, Serena Williams, Alec Baldwin, Michael Strahan, and more — in other words, you can register here.)

6) The Escape Artist

Mission:  Get of work. 

The Escape Artist is really looking for a Get Out of Work Free card without using any vacation time. Sure, they might learn a thing or two and meet a few interesting people, but playing hooky is their main mission. You’ll probably find The Escape Artist popping into a few talks, jotting down a few notes, and then leaving early to enjoy the sunshine or slipping away to their hotel room to take a nap.

Pro Tip: If you relate to this mission, remember that you can get a break from your day-to-day job while still bringing back a ton of value for your team. If you need ideas for how to get the most out of your conference experience, take a look at this blog post.

7) The Job Seeker

Mission: Get a job.

Job seekers tend to have a few different goals when attending a conference, depending on which stage of the job hunt they find themselves. When a job seeker is in the awareness stage, for example, he or she might attend an event to listen and learn about the various companies, opportunities, and people they’d like to work with.

But if this person is beyond that stage, he or she may have already made connections with people ahead of time via LinkedIn or Twitter. In that case, the job seeker is likely looking for opportunities to give these folks an elevator pitch in person, along with a resume or portfolio. And believe it or not, there are non-intrusive ways to start that conversation — check out some ideas here.  

(Are you on the hunt for a new job? Download these handy resume templates.)

8) The Deal-Maker

Mission: Establish a business partnership.

It’s easy to mistake a deal-maker for a networker. They’re similar, in that the latter attends a conference with the goal of creating business partnerships. But that could be for a number of opportunities, like co-marketing or co-branding, sponsorships, speaking opportunities — it’s a long list. (Download our free co-marketing guide for helpful tips.) In fact, this person might want to take a tip from the networker’s book — make lasting relationships first, then do business after the conference.

9) The Blogger

Mission: Produce high quality content.

The blogger attends a conference specifically on behalf of, well, a blog, or to obtain fodder for some other form of content. He or she is likely found listening to keynotes and breakout sessions, while writing down an outline or quotes on a laptop. (Holler.)

If you do meet a blogger at a conference, stay on your toes — he or she might be wearing a wire. Just kidding. But, they might try to write down some quotes from your conversation (with your permission, of course).

10) The Teacher

Mission: Relay knowledge to teammates.

Okay, so maybe we don’t mean “teacher” in the conventional sense. Rather, this person is the one you send to the conference to return with the best takeaways.

Like the sponge, the teacher takes excellent notes, and then relays them back to the team. If you have a company wiki, he or she will likely create a page on there with the lessons and best practices from the conference, or even give a presentation upon return.

11) The Frugal Tourist 

Mission: Vacation for free.

One of the great benefits of attending a conference is that your company will usually pay for your flights and hotel room. The Frugal Tourist understands this strategy all too well and will optimize her trip to include a bit of sightseeing while she’s there.

A word to the wise: This probably shouldn’t be your sole mission for attending a conference, but hey if you can tack on a vacation to the end of a super productive week … go for it! We’re all about that work hard, play hard lifestyle. Just make sure you use good judgment and bring back a ton of value for your team before you start beach hopping on the company’s dime.

12) The Thought Leader

Mission: Stay successful.

Thought leaders, though not synonymous with them, are often also the conference speakers. They’re experts on a given topic, and that’s why they’re at the event: To talk to a crowd about it.

They’ve probably written books and countless blog articles on the same topic, and have high numbers of followers on social media. And if it seems like they’re buzzed, don’t get the wrong impression — public speaking can cause a rush of adrenaline, so they’re likely just riding that momentum.

13) The Spy

Mission: Gather competitive intelligence.

There are people who attend events like conferences to evaluate a competitive landscape. They come equipped with important questions, such as:

• What does the competition’s presence look like at this conference?
• What are they doing right?
• What are they doing wrong? 
• Where is there unexpected competition?

Then, this information is compiled, analyzed, and turned into a plan of action. Attending a conference as a spy is actually a popular sales enablement tactic — it can provide your team with sound bites that might help them later close more deals.

14) The Salesperson

Mission:  Make a sale.

And speaking of sales enablement, there are many people who attend conferences with a singular goal: Sell their products or services.

Similar to the deal-maker, this person is there to, well, close deals. But there’s a difference — salespeople are usually only interested in selling their company’s core products and services, and not in things like building strategic partnerships. This interaction could happen during the conference, or sometime after it ends, when a prospect has had time to consider a deal.

15) The Partier

Mission: Have fun.

We conclude with the inevitable conference partier — the person who takes advantage of every social aspect, entertainment portion, and free drink available.

We all have a little bit of a partier in us — many of us find that it helps us to break the ice during otherwise awkward or uncomfortable silences. But let’s lead with some of the more constructive missions on this list — it’ll make your conference experience both fun and productive.

Whatever your conference-going persona, we can’t wait to meet you. Be sure to grab your tickets for INBOUND 2016, and say hi to us there.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in August 2014 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.