The 3 Qualities All Great Leaders Have

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I once had a boss who drove me completely nuts! 60% percent of our conversations went like this:

Me: "Hey, do you have five minutes?"

My boss: "Sure, what's up?"

Me: *start talking*

My boss: *immediately zones out, starts checking emails on their computer, then checks their phone, briefly looks at me, then goes back to the phone, and then to the computer, all while nodding their head…*

Me: *…continue talking for three minutes*

My boss: (while I'm still talking), "Yes, got it! Clear! Have you tried..." and proceeds to give me a generic, textbook suggestion.

Me: (thinking), "What the actual f*ck!?", (…but actually saying) "OK, thanks..."

My boss: "You're welcome! Anytime!"

Me: ??

What Makes a Great Leader?

That’s the classic million-dollar question. And that’s because leadership is situational—what works great in one environment might lead to disaster in another.

Being a good leader when everything’s running smoothly is far too easy. Great leadership usually emerges in times of crisis. But not all crises are equal. Depending on the situation, the challenge might be technical, interpersonal, or organizational. It can occur at the process level, the budget level, or, as in most cases, can be a mix of all the above.

Great leadership is about being able to lift the people you work with out of these challenges.

That’s why pinpointing the specific qualities of great leadership isn’t straightforward. But throughout my career, while working with both great and no-so-great leaders, I have definitely found some common traits shared among the great ones.

1. They Listen to Understand Not to Reply

They genuinely care about other people’s ideas and thoughts—including those of peers, superiors, direct reports, and individuals outside their organization.

They let people speak and listen attentively before replying. They ask follow-up questions and approach every interaction as an opportunity to gain new insights.

2. They Ask for Feedback

They proactively and explicitly ask for feedback about their work, their actions, and their decisions. They’re always looking to understand what worked and what didn’t—even when things go well. They don’t just assume success means they did everything right; they want to know why it worked so they can spot patterns and use them next time.

3. They Change Their Mind

They are not afraid to change their mind, revise previous decisions, or review their beliefs. They do so openly—they are not afraid to admit when they were wrong. They fully embrace the idea that changing one’s mind doesn’t make a leader weaker—it makes them stronger.

Conclusions

That is all for this week. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you did, please let me know by leaving a comment or sharing it with a friend.

If there’s a topic you’d like me to cover in a future issue, feel free to send me a message. I read them all. I’m always looking for feedback, suggestions, and new ideas.

Thanks for reading. See you next week. ????

Cheers,

Fusco

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