Rich Diviney: The Attributes Of People Who Excel When Life Gets Hard

Do you have what it takes to excel in times of high stress & ambiguity – even during a crisis? Are you able to succeed no matter what conditions you face?

While we might imagine that people who perform optimally under duress share a unique set of talentsskills, former U.S. Navy Seal team Commander, Rich Diviney discovered that what truly differentiates them are unique attributes.

During his twenty years as a Navy officer, Diviney was intimately involved in a selection process that whittled down hundreds of extraordinary SEAL candidates into small groups of the most elite performers. And he was repeatedly surprised by which candidates washed out & which ones succeeded. Some had all the right skills & still failed, while others he initially dismissed often proved to be the top performers.

Ultimately, Diviney realized that beneath the obvious abilities that all successful SEALs displayed, what truly differentiated them were hidden drivers of performance – special attributes like courage, open-mindedness, discipline, resilience & adaptability.  And when it came to high-performing SEAL leaders, they shared additional attributes including empathy, selflessness, authenticity, decisiveness & accountability.

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that things can go sideways at any moment; & Diviney’s new book, “The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance introduces us to the idea that cultivating specific attributes will ensure we perform optimally when things in life get very hard. And it’s invaluable insight because it can be applied to succeeding in all aspects of modern life – business, relationships, parenting, sports &, of course, leadership.

In this podcast, we discuss both the personal and professional attributes that help people master any environment they face. And one essential take-away from this conversation is that mastering skills alone will no longer deliver success in the times we need it most. Understanding how to cultivate your personal attributes will be the key.

By Mark C. Crowley

Mark C. Crowley is the author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century which has been taught in 11 American universities. He is a global speaker, leadership consultant and thought leader on the topics of workplace culture and employee engagement.