--- title: 10 Things the Greatest Leaders All Have In Common description: I’ve posted a lot about effective leaders. Looking back, what patterns do we see? Know The Power Of Feelings Leaders who just focus on results... canonical: https://time.com/101743/10-things-the-greatest-leaders-all-have-in-common/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-16T04:01:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:54:06.698Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 10 Things the Greatest Leaders All Have In Common og:description: I’ve posted a lot about effective leaders. Looking back, what patterns do we see? Know The Power Of Feelings Leaders who just focus on results... og:url: https://time.com/101743/10-things-the-greatest-leaders-all-have-in-common/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta71642554a674fe5/6986827936176042b490a981/boss.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: boss og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Things the Greatest Leaders All Have In Common twitter:description: I’ve posted a lot about effective leaders. Looking back, what patterns do we see? Know The Power Of Feelings Leaders who just focus on results... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta71642554a674fe5/6986827936176042b490a981/boss.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Things the Greatest Leaders All Have In Common by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker May 16, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker May 16, 2014 4:01 AM UTC I’ve posted a lot about [effective leaders](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/08/effective-leaders/). Looking back, what patterns do we see? ## Know The Power Of Feelings **Leaders who just focus on results don’t do nearly as well as those that also pay attention to relationships.** Via [Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CCPII14/?tag=spacforrent-20): Paying attention to employee feelings matters. **What’s the difference between exemplary and good employees? They care.** Via [Responsibility at Work: How Leading Professionals Act (or Don’t Act) Responsibly](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787994758/?tag=spacforrent-20): What strategies really improve organizations? Research involving 400 people across 130 companies came up with a simple answer: **_You must change individual behavior by addressing employee feelings._** Via [Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385528752/?tag=spacforrent-20): (More on being a well-rounded leader [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/09/strategic-leadership/).) ## …But Be Tough In A Crisis **The one time people definitely want a take-charge, decisive dictator is during a crisis.** Via [Bold Endeavors: Lessons from Polar and Space Exploration](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0088Q9XCE/?tag=spacforrent-20): (More on balancing toughness with warmth [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/10/extraordinary-leader/).) ## Know What Makes Employees Stay And Leave **Employees are made happy by achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility and advancement.** **They are most often made dissatisfied by policies, supervisors and work conditions.** Via [HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Managing People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H4X7ZK/?tag=spacforrent-20): (More on building great teams [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/10/team-building/).) ## Judge People By What They’re Good At If you want people who are competent at everything you’ll end up with a team of mediocrities. **Better to get the best person in a discipline and support them with others who can compensate for their weak spots.** Via [The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060833459/?tag=spacforrent-20): (More from the best management thinker ever [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/03/insights-management-book/).) ## Hubris Is Your Greatest Weakness **Don’t get full of yourself. That’s the downfall of nearly all great leaders.** In my [interview](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/03/interview-harvard-business-school-professor-gautam-mukunda-teaches-secrets-leader/) with Harvard Business School professor Gautam Mukunda, author of [Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1422186709/?tag=spacforrent-20), I asked him about the biggest mistake [leaders](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/01/5-tips-leader/) make: (More on resisting common leadership errors [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/09/strategic-leadership/).) ## Culture Is What You Do, Not What You Say **Cultures are formed by the behavior that is rewarded in a company, not pretty words.** So if the top salesperson gets treated like a king — despite how abusively he treats people — congratulations, that’s your culture, no matter what’s on slide 47 of the PowerPoint deck. Via [How Will You Measure Your Life?](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062102419/?tag=spacforrent-20): (More on building a rock solid company culture [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/08/culture-change/).) ## Know The Difference Between Leaders And Managers **The goal of management is consistency and order.** **The goal of leadership is to motivate and create necessary change.** Management is about processes. Leadership is about people’s feelings. Via [John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875848974/?tag=spacforrent-20) (More on moving from great manager to great leader [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/08/qualities-of-a-leader/).) ## Know Thyself What can you learn from an [Army Ranger about leadership](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/02/interview-ranger-special-ops-explains-secrets-persistence-leadership/)? **Knowing your limitations is key to being a great leader:** (More on how effective leaders spend their time [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/08/effective-leaders/).) ## Convey Authority And Warmth People expect leaders to carry themselves a certain way. What’s the secret? **Convey authority and warmth.** Via [The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help–or Hurt–How You Lead](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470876360/?tag=spacforrent-20): (More on how to appear like a leader [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/leadership-effectiveness/).) ## **Inspire By Showing People The Importance Of Their Jobs** **How do you inspire people? Show them why their jobs are important.** Noah Goldstein, co-author of [Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416576142/?tag=spacforrent-20), reviews a study: What magic do both the speeches of Martin Luther King and the marketing of Apple have that move us to believe and act? Simon Sinek, author of [Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591846447/?tag=spacforrent-20), has an interesting theory: (And when all else fails, yes, [nagging works](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-nagging-work).) ## Sum Up Ten things you can do to be like the best: 1. **Know The Power Of Feelings** 2. **…But Be Tough In A Crisis** 3. **Know What Makes Employees Stay And Leave** 4. **Judge People By What They’re Good At** 5. **Hubris Is Your Greatest Weakness** 6. **Culture Is What You Do, Not What You Say** 7. **Managers Are About Processes, Leaders Are About People** 8. **Know Thyself** 9. **Convey Authority And Warmth** 10. **Inspire By Showing People The Importance Of Their Jobs** **Join 45K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/) [6 Hostage Negotiation Techniques That Will Get You What You Want](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/06/hostage-negotiation/) [Which professions have the most psychopaths? The fewest?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/professions-most-fewest-psychopaths/) _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/101743/10-things-the-greatest-leaders-all-have-in-common/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/101743/10-things-the-greatest-leaders-all-have-in-common/"},"headline":"10 Things the Greatest Leaders All Have In Common","datePublished":"2014-05-16T04:01:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:54:06.698Z","description":"I’ve posted a lot about effective leaders. 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