Many people aspire to become leaders in their various companies and organizations. Various factors drive people to want to become leaders. The common drivers are power and money, as well as being able to tell other people what to do and not having to take direction from others.

Not everyone wants to be a leader and that’s okay. If everyone on the team is the leader, then no one is the leader and true chaos ensues. In every team sport there are positions that require leadership, such as a quarterback calling plays and making split second decisions on behalf of the team.

Some people feel that as a leader, they have to be the smartest person in the room. No one can know more than they do and the only people they want on their team are people who will agree to everything they say or do, without challenging them. This is very common in organizations and it’s guaranteed to be a recipe for failure. The leader can’t know everything and needs to rely on a network of experts. This is particularly true for those who are on the front lines interacting with customers. True leaders should want to surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are in certain aspects so that an array of the best ideas are presented and debated until the leader can weigh the pros and cons of each alternative strategy before settling on one to take.

The leader who chooses the right path should be grateful to the support team who presented various scenario options. However, sometimes the leader will choose the wrong path and the outcome might be a failure. The leader should still thank their team for presenting various options and then own the failure, just as they would own the success. Great leaders own their decisions and don’t blame others for faulty ones.

Just say “thank you.” The power of those words carries significant weight for employees, especially coming from their superiors.    The bosses that I worked the hardest for were the ones who showed appreciation for my work and thanked me for my efforts.

I remember a great boss thanking me for working hard during the first trade show I attended for the company, just a few weeks after I was hired. He made the effort to thank me for my work. I was blown away. His expression of gratitude meant I was important.  I mattered to that company, as well as to him, the boss. For the rest of my career, I was completely dedicated and gladly worked my butt off for him, even pulling all-nighters when warranted.

Another trait of a true leader is to be accessible and a great listener. You need to listen to your employees and you need to listen to your customers. That great boss I had did that all the time. He went to conventions and talked directly with our customers. He read their letters and wrote back to them personally. He often walked around the office, stopping to talk to employees to inquire how they were doing. This opened up a channel to allow them to share their ideas on how the company could improve its products, processes and work environment. This openness resulted in greater efficiency practices, cost savings, and customer satisfaction.

If you are a true leader, you will hire the best people, listen to them and inspire them to give their all to you and the company or organization.