What do the greatest leaders have in common?

Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer, Jim Collins researched 1435 of America’s Fortune 500 companies and found that more selfless leadership behaviours resulted in more effective leadership.

Collins found great companies consistently had better leaders and these leaders were defined by a paradoxical blend of personal humility and absolute determination. Just like the most impactful leaders in human history; Lao Tzu, Jesus, Moses, Buddha, etc.

Collins research was purely empirical without an underlying theoretical base.

However, the leadership model derived from the UHM (Universal Hierarchy of Motivation). UHM predicts exactly what Collins’ research team found. The leaders that Collins identifies clearly operated at the four highest levels of UHM: Meaning, Wisdom, Courage, and Compassion.

It sometimes seems that boards of directors in business operate under the erroneous belief that they need to hire super confident egocentric leader. This may explain why Collins found the very best leaders rarely appear at the top of major corporations or governments.