According to many top CEOs and entrepreneurs, employees stand out not just through technical abilities but even more through resilience, curiosity, and a willingness to push past comfort zones.
Although jobseekers often spend significant time perfecting their resumes, six major business leaders share that qualities like adaptability, attitude, and the way individuals handle challenges frequently determine career advancement.
Resilience: Overcoming Barriers and Learning from Setbacks
Charlotte Tilbury, a celebrated beauty entrepreneur, credits her rise to always challenging the restrictions others try to impose. She notes that self-created barriers are typically the toughest to break, with doubters being a constant. Tilbury sees mistakes as opportunities, not defeats, explaining, “Mistakes are chances to rethink and reach greater heights.” Facing adversity directly, she believes, builds stronger, more effective leaders.
Why Attitude and Curiosity Matter More Than Skills
For Charlie Bowes-Lyon, co-founder of Wild, the key predictor of success is how someone thinks and approaches their work, placing much higher value on attitude than on existing skills. He explains, “It’s 90% attitude and 10% skills,” since competencies can be taught, but attitude cannot. In addition, Bowes-Lyon asserts that even accomplished people often only appear confident, advising interviewees to prepare insightful questions like what success looks like in the role, as this shows real involvement and can set them apart.
Read more about how Charlie Bowes-Lyon runs Wild
In the view of Marcia Kilgore, founder of Beauty Pie and Soap and Glory, curiosity is indispensable when growing a team. She looks for candidates who are eager to learn, ready to ask questions, and willing to find ways to help. Kilgore also points to thoughtful communication as foundational in strong workplaces, suggesting that taking a moment to formulate considered replies is better than responding impulsively in interviews.
Read more about how Marcia Kilgore built her beauty brands.
Stepping Up to New Experiences and Saying ‘Yes’ to Risks
Anabel Kindersley, CEO and co-owner of Neal’s Yard Remedies, believes that embracing new and sometimes daunting opportunities has been crucial throughout her varied career, which has spanned acting, writing, and leadership in business. Kindersley values honesty about your own limitations and successes, stressing that building trust requires it. When hiring, she seeks individuals who balance “EQ as IQ,” weighing emotional intelligence as highly as technical skill.
Collaboration, Moving Out of the Familiar, and Adapting to Technology
Highlighting the significance of curiosity, adaptability, and AI-readiness for today’s workplace, Charlie Nunn, group chief executive at Lloyds Banking Group, identifies teamwork as central to most roles. Nunn encourages those who are job hunting to accept responsibilities that are unfamiliar, recalling his own nervousness about early retail jobs—experiences that ultimately built his resume and expertise.
Read about Charlie Nunn’s top ways to manage your money.
AI and the Evolution of Job Applications
James Reed, chairman and CEO of recruitment firm Reed, reminds applicants to focus not just on personal benefits but on how they fulfill employer needs. As artificial intelligence becomes integrated into hiring, Reed urges candidates to personalize their applications to closely mirror job descriptions so both algorithms and human recruiters can identify you as an excellent fit. He praises AI as a “wonderful tool” and suggests using it to strengthen your application while always providing your own perspective and authenticity.
Read more about James Reed’s advice on how to get a job.
Conclusion: How Mindset Outweighs the Resume
The take-home message from these leaders is consistent: initiative, adaptability, and emotional intelligence give candidates the edge, even more than a perfect CV. Standing out often means welcoming challenges, showing you are eager to learn, and using tools like AI intelligently rather than dependently. The individuals who seek to grow and add real value are those who advance the furthest.
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