4 Key Differences Between a GOOD Leader and a GREAT Leader: It’s All About Connecting!

As an investment management leader for over 30 years, I learned that GOOD leaders follow obvious leadership practices. However, GREAT leaders learn to think differently.

Earlier in my career, as I assumed greater responsibilities with larger teams, I tried to do all the things good leaders do: Be a good listener, be open-minded, inspire my people, formulate a vision and hire top performers.  It’s hard to argue with any of these approaches, if the goal is simply be a good leader.

Over time I learned that those who truly aspire to be great, need to rethink relationships, teamwork and and how we connect with our colleagues. If you want to truly impact the lives of your team members, and help your organization optimize performance, you must approach leadership differently.

Why Leadership Matters

There is no end to the amount of research that reinforces the power of great leadership. Recent Gallup studies show that companies that increased their number of talented leaders and doubled the rate of engaged employees achieved an average of 147 percent higher earnings per share compared to the competition. Gallup also notes that 78 percent of business leaders say they actively engage with their employees – yet less than half of those employees believe their organization’s leadership is “high quality.”  A 2023 DDI research report reveals that only 40 percent of leaders rate their firm’s leadership quality as “excellent” or “very good” – an 8 percentage point drop since the pandemic.

Lessons Learned = Leadership Principles

As a student of leadership, I am grateful for the impact great leaders have had on me.  As my career progressed, I’ve seen how my own leadership can influence others. I’ve translated my learnings into four leadership principles that transformed my approach. For each principle, I compare the conventional wisdom that good leaders employ with contrasting approaches employed by great leaders.

1.  Good leaders appear confident. Great leaders ask for help and share their vulnerabilities.
   Confidence is tricky. It’s typically considered a virtue, particularly in the workplace. That’s why most good leaders go to significant lengths to project confidence. However, this confidence is often overstated or feigned, and both are problematic. Everyone in the room knows when you’re faking it, and in the process, you’re distancing yourself from the people you need to rely upon. Ironically, this makes you appear insecure.

   Great leaders appreciate that true confidence means having the courage to be honest and forthcoming about your limitations and vulnerabilities. When you openly share these vulnerabilities, and rely upon your teammates for help, that’s genuine confidence. This will inspire trust within your team and will help you connect with your colleagues.

   When I worked at Charles Schwab, we held weekly investment meetings with dozens of highly skilled portfolio managers. As Chief Investment Officer, I often asked questions others in the room were hesitant to ask for fear of appearing uninformed or unknowledgeable. I wanted to demonstrate that I didn’t know everything, that I relied on the expertise of my colleagues, and that we wanted to foster a culture in which team members are encouraged to rely on each other. My team not only voiced appreciation for this practice – they told me it actually inspired confidence. In order to be a GREAT leader, find the courage to be vulnerable. This will be a win-win for you and your teams. But it takes genuine confidence!

2. Good leaders focus on professional relationships. Great leaders focus on personal relationships.
   “All great professional relationships are rooted in a strong personal relationship.” I’ve shared this quote with numerous colleagues and it really resonates. However, I didn’t always appreciate this. When I was younger and I held my one-on-one meetings with my employees, we’d start off spending a few minutes talking about our weekends, vacations and kids. Then we’d quickly get into the business at hand: priority lists, goals, and metrics, Connecting on the personal side of things was obligatory, something one should do in order to be a good leader.

   However, as the years went by, I came to appreciate the power of connecting with employees on a much deeper, more personal level. This became the goal of my one-on-one meetings. While there will always be boundaries, they need not limit our ability to connect in a very personal and human way. This allows professional relationships to flourish. The personal connection inspires collaboration, inspiration and trust. A great leader sees the power in cultivating strong personal relationships.

3. Good leaders provide fun activities. Great leaders make the work itself a joy.
   We’ve all worked in environments that weren’t particularly joyful. In the past, many leaders felt that fun and hard work were incompatible.  Fortunately, most companies today make some effort to have fun in the workplace through birthday celebrations, team building events, and the commemoration of milestones. Many firms employ engagement surveys, and good leaders work to ensure their teams score high.

   Great leaders, on the other hand, recognize the difference between providing fun activities vs fostering and inspiring a genuine joy in the work itself.  In order to make work rewarding, and yes even fun and joyful, this needs to be an explicit priority. Great leaders set a joyful tone. They spend significant time and energy making connections, offering inspiration and encouragement, and fostering levity and humor. More than anything, when your team sees you having fun and taking joy in your work, they’ll be more likely to do the same. The benefits are significant. Great leaders understand that very few employees leave jobs that provide joy – even for more money.

4. Good leaders hire the best people. Great leaders cultivate the best team.
   There is a significant distinction between a TEAM of great players vs a GREAT TEAM of players. There are countless examples of sports teams, rock bands and other groups where the chemistry and teamwork (or lack thereof) makes all the difference.  A group of team-oriented individual players can make amazing accomplishments.  Keith Richards is one of the two guitarists for the Rolling Stones. Keith was asked, which of the two is the better guitar player. He responded, “Neither of us are any good, but together, no one is better”.

Great leaders focus on the team and how all the players come together. Specifically, how each individual impacts the performance of the other team members.  Several years ago, I needed to hire a senior portfolio manager. One finalist had a great deal of experience, knew his craft perfectly and was certainly an industry expert. Yet he wasn’t a team player. The other finalist had less experience, but was much more team-oriented. I hired the less experienced candidate. He made the team better by contributing to our culture with his eagerness to collaborate, learn, and share his expertise.  When great leaders look to hire new employees, they ask one clarifying question, “Will they make the team better?”

About Connections

The single most significant catalyst for success in my leadership journey centered around fostering strong and meaningful connections with my team. This involved sharing my authentic self, being a true friend to each colleague, emphasizing teamwork, and inspiring joy in the work itself. This meant I had to reimagine some of the thinking I had been taught. If you apply the four principles above, you’ll improve your leadership capabilities and have a meaningful and positive impact on your team and your organization – not to mention, the positive impact on your career trajectory!

Written by Brett Wander.

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