After 30 years of research on the traits of mentally strong leaders, here are 6 crucial ways they stand out.

A strong leader is capable of controlling their emotions, thoughts, and actions to achieve exceptional results. They manage their internal state to effectively lead externally.

In the chaotic and exhausting work world, where fear and distraction are common, mental strength is the key to effective leadership.

My research on leadership and mental strength has revealed six "tests of leadership" that are most closely associated with exceptional achievement.

Mastering communication and public speaking is the ultimate guide.

Mentally strong leaders excel when it comes to:

1. Fortitude

Perseverance involves managing your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors with determination.

Developing fortitude helps you find the courage to face tension and not give up.

Fortitude:

• Helps you reframe setbacks
• Helps you handle the "daily grind"
• Fuels a problem-solving mindset
• Helps you thrive under pressure and perform in crisis
• Helps you effectively plan for and handle adversity
• Sparks a refusal to engage in victim mentality
• Feeds healthy debate
• Gives you the courage and wherewithal to have difficult conversations

2. Confidence

The link between confidence and achievement is clear. Negative self-criticism can quickly erode your confidence, leaving you at a disadvantage.

Confidence guides you and others through insecurity, leading to your most capable self.

Confidence:

• Gives you the self-assurance to embrace relevant criticism
• Helps you push past fear of failure, manage self-doubt and embrace healthy doubt
• Keeps you from making irrelevant comparisons and seeking approval
• Helps you stop negative self-talk and prevail over imposter syndrome
• Believes that being "enough" drives a disciplined approach to learning and improvement.
• Encourages your most optimistic self
• Helps you exude executive presence, further increasing others' confidence in your leadership

3. Boldness

Empowering thoughts and beliefs are crucial for developing boldness, which in turn fuels fearlessness and drives individuals and teams to achieve greater heights.

Boldness:

• Fuels big thinking
• Helps you shake up unhelpful stories teams fall into
• Spurs you to take smart risks
• Pushes you past uncertainty to embrace change
• Gives you the conviction to lead change

4. Messaging

Your actions, words, and emotions as a leader influence how employees perceive themselves and their work.

You can use this position to send messages that are transformative for you and those around you.

In this area, growth fuels motivation, energy, and trust.

• Helps you navigate negative emotions in the moment
• Prevents you from losing your temper, and helps you choose your words carefully
• Helps you avoid negativity traps (like pessimistic complainers and debilitating emotions)
• Encourages you to proactively fuel positivity
• Helps you be an active listener
• Drives you to show up with transparency and integrity
• Can you please provide me with the original sentence so that I can rewrite it?
• Gives you the discipline to act consistently with your values, reinforcing your character

5. Decision-making

Good decision-making is hindered by emotions, biases, and undisciplined thinking. Developing self-regulation skills can help you make courageous and convincing decisions that lead to success.

In this area, self-regulation and mental strength:

• Be mindful of your biases and habits to avoid their negative impact on your decision-making.
• Help you develop a data-based, analytical approach to decision-making
• Help you set a clear decision-making process or structure
• Encourage you to explore a better third option
• Help you develop better predictive ability and greater decision confidence
• Feed your willingness to make tough, unpopular calls

6. Goal-focus

By intentionally controlling your thoughts, emotions, and actions, you can gain the discipline needed to focus on what's most important and achieve your goals.

Self-regulation and mental strength:

• Help you set powerful goals and visualize what it will take to achieve them
• Inspire you to establish a more thorough set of expectations
• Help you focus on what you can control
• Help you hold yourself and others accountable
• Guide you to build momentum with small victories
• Help you stop procrastination and perfectionism
• Help you adjust goals as needed along the way

Imagine achieving excellence in all six leadership tests, thanks to your exceptional self-control, formidable mental fortitude, and powerful impact.

After three decades of research, I am convinced that nothing yields a greater return on investment than your dedication to developing mental strength as a leader. Furthermore, mental fortitude enhances your capacity to achieve exceptional outcomes, even in challenging circumstances.

Scott Mautz is a well-known speaker, trainer, and LinkedIn Learning instructor. He was previously a senior executive at Procter & Gamble, where he oversaw several of the company's largest multibillion-dollar businesses. He is the author of "The Mentally Strong Leader: Develop the Skills to Control Your Emotions, Thoughts, and Actions." Connect with him on LinkedIn.

To become a successful and confident communicator, enroll in CNBC's online course, Become an Effective Communicator: Master Public Speaking. Our program will teach you how to speak clearly and confidently, manage your nerves, choose the right words, and use effective body language to make a great first impression. Sign up now and use code EARLYBIRD for a 30% discount through July 10, 2024.

Rewritten: "The Mentally Strong Leader: Build the Habits to Productively Regulate Your Emotions, Thoughts, and Behaviors" by Scott Mautz. Copyright © 2024. Reprinted with permission of Peakpoint Press. All rights reserved.