6 key characteristics shared by all​ people who make an impact
By: Thomas Cerulis Mycatalyst
Tags: Productivity, Information, Impact, Ideas, Leadership

A Catalyst: An agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action.

Just like in chemistry, catalysts lower activation energy. They trigger change where else nothing might have happened. Some might discount these people simply as busy bees or high-performers, but there is more to it than meets the eye. Upon taking a closer look and researching catalysts across different businesses, they seem to be united by a common skillset.

In what comes next, we’ll delve deeper into the mind of catalysts and take a look at which traits set them apart from the rest of us.

Photo by Angelo Winston — bsncb

1. Information Processing — Systemically & Contextually​

Catalysts unconsciously put pieces of information together as if they are building a large puzzle. Connecting, orchestrating and synthesizing new information while also viewing it in the context of the group, company or culture.

They often (mistakenly) assume that people around them come to the same conclusions and are confused when others don’t. Luckily, they have a strong sense of emotional intelligence, being able to recognize both their own as well as other people’s emotions.

2. Idea generation — Constantly seeing new possibilities

They’re unable to stop themselves from coming up with ideas and possibilities on how to solve problems and make things better. It’s not just consuming information and coming to new conclusions, it’s a matter of actually taking action based on those conclusions. Catalysts are always working through to the next thing. There is always more to do, the ideas never end.

3. Intuition — Comfortable with Risk & Ambiguity​

Catalysts don’t need to know all the details to be able to move forward. In line with Colin Powell’s 40/70 rule, they can make decisions with as little as 40% of the information, but they don’t stick around to collect more than 70%. This seems counterintuitive, but by collecting more than 70% of the information, they run the risk that someone else is quicker, that the opportunity is no longer available or that something even better has already come along.

They often come across as risk-takers for taking the first leap despite having little information, but they themselves don’t consider them as being comfortable with risk. Because they’re so highly intuitive they’re willing to take what seems to be like a bold step for others. But only after processing the required information.

In the end, Catalysts don’t mind working on something without knowing where they are going. That’s part of the beauty, but not everyone always appreciates that kind of ambiguity.

4. Driving Action — Transforming their environment

They have a life purpose to make the world around them better. And to do that, the only way is to take action. Either all by themselves or by convincing the world around them to see what they see. This drive for action makes them relentless, which is why they don’t mind working on something without having the next step clearly pictured.

It’s like walking in the dark with a small flashlight. They don’t mind not knowing what lies ahead, as long as they have a way to figure out which direction to walk in. Not taking action is the most painful, as it completely goes against their inner drive for change. They would rather bump into a wall and use that information to fine-tune their next step than to stand still and wait for things to happen naturally.

5. Vision Creation — Through Data Analysis​

If an idea is worth taking action on, a vision arises effortlessly. As already explained with regards to information processing, catalysts are the masters of the bigger picture. Their information processing capabilities allow them to puzzle ideas and improvements together into entire visionary frameworks.

Depending on the problem’s level of complexity that vision comes quickly or takes a moment to form. The most seasoned catalysts are then able to make that vision resonate with others and bring them along on the journey.

6. Learning & Experimentation Mindset​

The common mindset of catalysts, when engaged with the world around them, is that of a design thinker or an action learner. Iteration is a strong factor, allowing catalysts to continuously learn by monitoring results and finetuning the next step even more.

Failure is a concept that doesn’t exist in their book. It gets reframed entirely as every action is an experiment and even if you don’t get the expected result, the outcome is valuable information that helps guide how the next step should be redirected.

The need for constant marginal improvement can be difficult for bystanders as the pace of innovation, iteration and improvement is hard to keep up with.