The Greatest Single Trait of a Truly Great Leader

Have you ever crossed paths with a leader or manager who would boast about the length of their tenure in a role?

The former pastor of my church is a classic example, having dedicated a solid forty years to the same role — ascending the same steps, and delivering sermons from the same pulpit for four long decades. This milestone wasn’t just a chapter in his life; it was his life. He was genuinely proud of his longevity and was the first to give himself a pat on the back. Whenever anyone new would come to the church, he would introduce himself like this:

“Hey there, I’m Pastor ‘Such-and-such,’ and I’ve been holding down the fort here for forty years.”

Then, he’d throw in, “I’m basically camping out until they hand me a gold watch and force me into retirement!” and he’d laugh uproariously.

He repeated this spiel with such regularity that I knew his script from memory. At first, it was funny. After a while it became annoying. Eventually, I found it nauseating.

Why?

Because I know the real reasons he achieved forty years in the one leadership position. It wasn’t because of his talent, skills, commitment, work ethic, his dedication to success or his so-called “calling” to the ministry.

No. It was none of those things.

The real reason that he managed to stay in the one leadership position for forty years was that he failed to exhibit the greatest single trait of a truly and great leader.

And, therefore, he was a bad leader.

And what is the greatest single trait of a truly and great leader?

I’m glad you asked.

The Greatest Leadership Trait

Former U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt said, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

In other words, the greatest leaders are masters of replacing themselves, and gracefully bowing out. That is why my forty-year pastor missed the mark of true leadership greatness. Instead of empowering others, he clung to his position as a personal triumph, repeating the same script, and stifling the growth of those around him.

Good leaders decentralize power and authority.

Bad leaders cling to it.

Letting Go — The Mark of a Secure Leader

Only secure leaders are able to give power to others. They are like talent scouts. They spend their days spotting potential leaders, lifting them up, providing resources, giving them authority, and responsibility, and then letting them spread their wings to soar.

On the flip side, insecure leaders? Well, they’re more like detectives with trust issues. Instead of building people up, they spend their time side-eyeing everyone and doing whatever it takes to clip the wings of potential leaders and stunt growth.

The reason they do this is very simple. Their greatest fear is no longer being needed, or being replaced by someone more competent. What they fail to realize is that the path to true leadership greatness lies in empowering others. This journey isn’t a zero-sum game; it’s a mutual elevation.

Empowering others is a reciprocal process. By making others great, leaders elevate themselves. Consider the contrast between what you can achieve individually versus what becomes possible when you raise a collective force of capable individuals to work alongside you. The synergy created by an empowered team far surpasses the limitations of a lone ranger.

Of course, to work this way, one has to become completely comfortable with the idea that some of the leaders you raise up will surpass your knowledge, skills and capability. Your ceiling becomes their floor. If you try to keep the great leaders down, guess what? They’re going to pack their bags and take their talent elsewhere.

Sadly, there are many long-serving leaders who are totally fine to lose the talent, because they would rather do that, than lose themselves. And, it come at the expense of growth for both people and organizations.

Longevity and Identity — A Marriage Made in Hell

The longer one stays in the same leadership position, the great the risk of that position metamorphizing into their very identity. The title on their office door or the position on their business card is no longer a job description; it becomes who they are. The authority, responsibilities, and recognition that come with the position intertwine with their sense of self.

When this happens, any criticism of their role feels like a direct attack on who they are. Like a spider fiercely guarding its web, an identity-bound leader finds it near impossible to objectively evaluate their performance. In the case of my forty-year pastor, every proposed change was met with an ultra-defensive stance. The mere suggestion of altering the status quo was perceived as an assault on his identity, triggering a reaction that crushed almost every new idea.

Innovation requires a certain level of detachment from the status quo. If a leader is emotionally tethered to their current role, the fear of losing it leads them to resist any innovative ideas that could disrupt the familiar. Inevitably, this leads to stagnation. Growth becomes too scary a prospect because it threatens the very fabric of their identity.

Such was the case in my old church. Initial growth over the first two decades gave way to a gradual contraction over the subsequent two decades. The more the leader’s identity became married to his position, the more the organization began to flounder. High-capacity emerging leaders came and went, driven out by the insecurity of the leadership at the helm, creating a cycle of stagnation and turnover that compromised the church’s potential.

The Jesus Model

You do not have to be a person of faith to admire the leadership style of Jesus. He gathered around himself a group of unlikely men and women, in whom he saw some potential that others may have missed.

For three years he invested into them — pouring out his wisdom, setting an example, and passing on his teaching. Then, he got the hell out of the way, and left them to do the job. And he left behind a large circle of people who were better humans, and more courageous and competent leaders as his legacy to the world.

Hey, if it’s good enough for the so-called son of God, then I rate it as a leadership principle to live by.

Empower others.

Get out of the way.

It is Better to be Missed than Dismissed

When my forty-year pastor finally retired, the entire church breathed a collective sigh of relief. His departure marked not just the end of an era but liberation from a leadership style that actually stifled the growth of the organization.

He couldn’t see it.

All he wanted was his gold watch.

And he got it. But he could have had something far more precious. He could have left a legacy of empowered leaders, a flourishing community, and a thriving organization. Instead he left behind a smallish church, and a trail of broken and hurting people — those who had dared to excel under his leadership and paid the price for their ambition.

Therefore, most were glad to see him go.

It’s better to be missed than dismissed.

To Grow, Let Go

I could have chosen many leadership traits as the greatest. I could have chosen courage, initiative or foresight. And they are all great things for leaders to have. But, the reason that the empowering leader is the greatest is simple.

Leadership is about impact, not just endurance. The empowering leader, unlike my forty-year pastor, understands that leadership isn’t a marathon of personal achievements but a relay race, where the baton must be passed.

What makes the empowering leader the true great is their commitment to replacing themselves. It’s not a blow to the ego but a strategic move that ensures an organization’s enduring success. Everybody wins when a leader cultivates a culture where leadership isn’t about holding onto power but multiplying it.

In stark contrast, leaders who cling to authority are like gardeners who refuse to let seeds sprout into mighty trees. The empowering leader, on the other hand, joyfully watches the forest grow, knowing they played a part in creating a legacy that extends beyond their own tenure.

They don’t crave a gold watch; they savor the satisfaction of seeing their protégés reach new heights.

To grow, they let go.

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This post was previously published on Backyard Church.

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