Every wonders what makes Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, or Mark Zuckerberg makes special? Here are some common traits famous innovators have in common. While we can’t promise that replicate these traits will make you the next great innovator but if helped all these brilliant people it can’t hurt to try! So here are some of the common traits that famous innovators have in common.

Leading with Authenticity
One trait that famous innovators have in common is being natural leaders. This means that people naturally follow them, not through manipulation or smooth talking but by leading through examples. People like Steve Jobs were so visibly creative that others could sense it and were naturally attracted tot heir unique minds. A good innovator also creates an environment that encourages creativity around them. That means they are not only surrounding themselves with people who may not think the same but think about things “outside the box.” Famous innovators usually had a leadership team where they encouraged questioning and critique because this is how progress and innovation are made, not through a top-down approach but through authentic leadership and collaboration.

Embrace Failure
Famous innovators embrace failure. This doesn’t mean they try to fail….. this means that they learn from their failures and they are not afraid to continue even if there is a good chance to fail. Even the bigwigs like Apple have stumbled in the past, anyone remembers Steve Job’s pet project The Newton? Well, don’t worry if you can’t remember, you aren’t the only one; it was a massive flop. But what separates famous innovators from the crowd is that they will use a failure as a learning experience, they will see what went wrong and what went right, they won’t take it personally they will just use it as further inspiration. So if you want to think like a famous innovator or CEO you need to embrace your failures and keep on track no matter what the chances of falling on your face are and if you do fail, pick yourself up, learn from your mistakes and keep innovating!

Encourage Diversity
One of the common traits of famous innovators is encouraging diversity in their creative process. This includes working with people from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds, people who want to innovate know that different cultures approach problems differently and by surrounding yourself with diversity. Diversity also means different schools of thought and education. People who truly innovate know that artists and philosophers can be just as important as engineers and programmers when you are trying to innovate or solve big programs. Different educational background encourages looking at problems and providing solutions in a wide variety of different ways.

As you can see these are some of the common traits famous innovators have in common, maybe if you replicate a few of these in your personal of business life you could enjoy a bit of extra creativity and innovation!