Empowering those around you to be heard and valued makes the difference between a leader who simply instructs and one who inspires.

A leader who listens is one who is malleable and willing to refine her views and actions as she learns new information or hears a better idea.

Listen to clients, employees, and peers and stay open to their ideas, feedback, and answers. Doing so is vital to the success of any leader.

One of many strengths that I often see in successful women on Wall Street is a responsible balance between risk taking and risk mitigation - the ability to assess situations smartly and make the right medium-to-long-term decisions without being lured into reckless, short-term profit-taking.

Even the mundane task may have something to teach you - especially if it's a task you haven't performed before.

You can't be successful in business without taking risks. It's really that simple.