10/14/2025

The Best Leaders Need Vision and Smart Teams to Succeed

Leadership is about being exceptional at something that makes others believe in a brighter future

For decades, MBA programs, leadership trainings and consultancies have told us that effective leaders share a set of "essential competencies." You know the lists: empathy, strategic vision, humility, charisma, psychological safety, communication skills. These ideas get repeated in boardrooms and promised in executive education programs. But if these competencies were truly essential, then the leaders we most admire should have them. The truth is, they often don't.

This never made sense to me. In addition to my writing and research, I've spent the past 15 years running a secret dining experience called the Influencers Dinner. We've hosted close to 4,000 Olympians, Nobel laureates, executives, astronauts, Grammy-winning artists, Oscar-winning directors and even the occasional prime minister or princess. And what became clear, sitting across the table from these leaders, is that while all of them were wildly effective, there was no commonality in their skills. Some were quiet; others loud. Some thrived on collaboration, others preferred making decisions on their own. Yet each led organizations, movements, or creative projects that shaped the world.

Look at the most impactful leaders you know and you see the same thing. Elon Musk is not known for humility, compassion or building consensus. Steve Jobs was not exactly famous for psychological safety. Yet both are considered among the most effective leaders of our time. So, what explains it?

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.