The Only Leadership Trait That Matters
Wow, that's some headline, huh? This blog is based on an October 2025 article from Fast Company by John Levy. Given the fact there are about 57,000 leadership books on Amazon, when an author says there's only one leadership trait that matters, you must stand up and take notice.
Please tune in this week as Wayne reveals Levy’s single trait, discusses how he came to his conclusion, disabuses the notion that there are six to 10 essential leadership competencies, and talks about why leadership doesn't always equal effectiveness. What are your thoughts? Is this formula just too simple? If you had to boil leadership down to just a few items, what would your list look like? Please write to me at [email protected].
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WAYNE RIVERS: Hi, everyone. This is Wayne Rivers at Performance Construction Advisors where We Build Better Contractors.
This week I want to talk about the only, the only leadership trait that matters. This comes from an article from, oh golly, it was in Fast Company in September of '25, and it really grabbed my attention. The only leadership trait that matters. Golly, wow. We can throw out all the other stuff. I looked. Amazon has 57,000 books on leadership. So here comes John Levy writing this article, and he says, "There's only one leadership trait that matters." So we can throw out those 57,000 books, right? Of course, it's never, ever that simple. It's good writing, but it's never that simple.
Okay, let's get into this, starting at the beginning of the article. "For decades, MBA programs, leadership training, et cetera have told us that effective leaders share a set of essential competencies, empathy, strategic vision, humility, charisma, psychological safety, and communication skills. But if these competencies were truly essential, then the leaders we most admire should have them. The truth is they often don't.
Okay. Okay. I mean, this is good writing. This is catchy writing. You have to like it. Now, to get to his definition of that one essential trait, he interviewed over 4,000 high achievers, Olympians, prime ministers, Nobel Prize winners, astronauts, those kinds of people that are super achievers, and he talks about that essential list of traits. But he said, "Among these 4,000 high achievers, there were no commonalities." Well, maybe there was one, and we'll get to that. He said, "The only thing that defines leaders is followers. Hard to be a leader if you don't have followers." So you've got to admire that logic. He said, "People follow others for one reason only, and that is that those people inspire others to see a better future." To see a better future. You have to like that.
Continuing with Levy, "Think back to high school. On Friday afternoons at 1:00, we were still stuck in class, but we felt excited because the weekend was ahead. On Sunday nights at 6:00 P.M., however, we were free but anxious, already anticipating Monday. The difference wasn't the present, it was the future we expected. The way we feel about now depends on what we think tomorrow will look like."
Again, that's inescapable logic. I think every one of us can relate to that high school imagery and agree with Levy that that's the case. The super skill then is to inspire other people to see a better future for themselves, for their teams, et cetera, et cetera.
But wait. "Wait," he says. Leadership does not necessarily equate to effectiveness. You got to take it a step farther. To be effective, you have to have three things. Number one, reasoning; number two, attention; and number three, resources. So this leadership inspiring a better future must be combined with three other things. Reasoning, alignment on clear goals. Again, it makes sense. Two, attention, making people feel valued and safe and giving appropriate appreciations when they're due. And the third thing is resources. Elevating networks among teammates and making sure they have the right tools to do their job super effectively. So leadership, inspiring people to see a better future, combined with the three pillars of team effectiveness, there's the magic formula.
Let me read you the conclusion. "The new and better future. It's about making people feel there's a new and better future; that's why people follow. But whether that following leads to real results depends on team intelligence."
Again, an interesting article. So I'd like to hear from you. Do you agree this is the one leadership trait, a better future, that inspires people? Or are there other things that you've experienced are quite necessary and maybe even higher on the list of importance? Share with us - [email protected]. This is Wayne Rivers at Performance Construction Advisors where We Build Better Contractors.
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