Writing this well-timed blog inspired me to think about President’s Day a little differently as we remember and celebrate some of the greatest leaders in American history. Arguably, considering leadership through the lens of politics versus organizations and corporations is wildly different due to many key factors. Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln all faced technology, industry, expectations, stakeholders, dynamics and a culture quite unrecognizable to leaders in the 21st century (and vice versa). Inarguably, there are five leadership qualities that are critical to the success of today’s presidents and CEOs:

1. Emotional intelligence—There’s more to leading than being smart. As a leader, it’s important to not only understand your own needs, but the needs of those you’re charged with leading. Knowing those needs means you inspire the best from your employees and that translates to success for your company.
2. Integrity and character—Be someone your employees are proud to work for. Take responsibility for your actions, act with humility and be accountable for your choices—words and deeds. In other words, employ the “golden rule” within your organization and behave as you would want others to behave. Building an organization where high integrity and character are the standard is motivating and creates a committed workforce who simply want to do their best for you.
3. Resilience—We’ve all heard this one a lot and there’s a reason. Resiliency in leadership, particularly when you’re sitting at the head of the helm, is imperative. Take time to acknowledge failures, process mistakes and ponder poor choices, but be ready to move on. No one likes a mopey leader or one that gets mired in the negative. Stay upbeat, learn from mistakes, find the silver lining and forge ahead.
4. Empowerment—As CEO, more often than not it’s your job to think, not do. Be more concerned with setting the vision, articulating the values and sketching the framework. Then get out of the way so everyone can do their job. When you come upon a bump in the road, point out the bump, but don’t grab your shovel—allow your team to solve it.
5. Relevance—Or more aptly, the ability to create it for your employees. The late Steve Jobs was credited with creating a “reality distortion field” where employees were so taken by his charisma and vision that he was able to convince anyone that anything was possible. By taking your grand vision and making it relevant to your executive team, so that they can pass that relevance down and so on and so forth, everyone on board is truly on board. They understand the very impact of what they do day to day on the organization, the industry and the world. And when you know that what you do really matters, being good at your job isn’t really good enough. Chances are, your employees will want to be great.