12 learnable habits that separate top leaders from everyone else

Executive overview

Most hiring decisions come down to intangible qualities that are hard to name. After 30,000 interviews with top-tier candidates, William Vanderbloemen's firm identified 12 habits that consistently distinguish the best from the rest.

None of the habits involve IQ, credentials, or background. Every one is learnable. As AI handles more knowledge work, these human skills become the irreplaceable differentiator.

Self-awareness is the foundation: without it, none of the other 11 habits can function properly.

Why soft skills beat credentials

• 3,000 executive searches and 30,000 long-format interviews revealed consistent patterns among top performers
• Unicorns are not defined by Ivy League degrees, high IQ, or socioeconomic background
• The commonalities were "stunningly consistent" — and a surprise to the researchers
• A law firm partner confirmed: AI now handles grunt work; what makes associates last is people skills
• These habits resist AI replication because they require human judgment, presence, and adaptability

Self-awareness: the most critical and most overlooked habit

• Among unicorns surveyed, self-awareness ranked as the least common top gift
• 93% of the general population rated themselves above average in self-awareness — statistically impossible
• The gap between perceived and actual self-awareness is the biggest blind spot for people trying to improve
• Tools like DISC, Enneagram, and StrengthsFinder make self-assessment accessible without therapy
• Self-awareness enables powerful interview answers: describe your wiring, your energy sources, your worst-fit environments
• Knowing your weaknesses prevents fake answers and surfaces genuine fit signals

Productivity: doing what most people don't

• Most people are poor at productivity; standing out here requires little more than basic consistency
• Work in your "green zones" — schedule hard work when energy is highest
• The five-item daily list: write down five objectives each day, not three, not seven — five
• Traces to JP Morgan: the earliest management consulting engagement was built on this exact practice
• First chance is best chance — act on tasks immediately rather than deferring ("crastinate" is Latin for tomorrow)
• One executive kept 25 years of daily five-item lists; could recall exactly what he accomplished any given day

Agility: staying flexible as the world speeds up

• Biological fact: flexibility decreases every year without deliberate effort; the same is true vocationally
• Unicorns actively work to increase flexibility rather than letting habits calcify
• During the pandemic, the people who rose to the top were those who could adapt fastest
• The pace of change — accelerated by AI — will keep increasing; adaptability is a compounding advantage

Anticipation and preparation: looking up from the grass

• Most people are like sheep: focused only on what is directly in front of them
• Preparation means studying ahead — reading about the people you will meet, knowing what is on your calendar
• Anticipation is intentionality: begin with the end in mind, then work backwards
• Very few people do this consistently; those who do stand out immediately

How to start

• The 12 habits are not sequential — treat the book as a choose-your-own-adventure
• Take the assessment at theunicornbook.com to identify your top three and bottom three habits
• A personalised development plan is generated from the assessment results
• Start with self-awareness, then build outward into whichever habits score lowest