Researchers estimate that leadership is about a third born and two-thirds made. Some inborn traits such as extraversion, assertiveness, empathy, and social intelligence are important elements of leadership, but training, education, self-development, and experience are at least as important.

Leaders cannot focus on tasks and strategies alone; they must also pay attention to relationships and morale. One of the best ways to do that is to foster a culture of gratitude, praising and thanking colleagues for the work they do and the ideas they contribute.

Charisma is hard to define but it generally involves the ability to signal one’s confidence and competence to others, and to convey understanding, through body language, rhetorical skills, and persuasion. Researchers are split on whether it is a necessary trait for effective leadership, but most at least see it as a signal of someone’s leadership potential.

Analyses of the qualities generally regarded as essential for effective leadership do not reveal any inherent superiority among men, yet far more men than women reach top leadership positions. One theory is that the qualities that help one become selected for such positions, like confidence, aggression, and charisma

In positions of leadership, narcissists may display charisma and even rally colleagues to perform in a crisis, but their sense of entitlement, resistance to criticism, striving for glory, and lack of empathy often leads to failure to build successful organizations.