Over the past 28 years, I've worked for three major corporations with many diverse leaders. Some have been highly effective, some incredibly dismal. I've also researched this subject extensively and here are three key findings.

Great leaders Influence other people by understanding them and gaining their trust and support.

Effective leaders have the ability to understand how other people think, which includes their desires, motivations, requirements and wants. Once people realize that you actually care, they will undoubtedly follow you. You must show that you are one of THEM and that you will lead them to bigger and greater accomplishments. Without gaining trust and support your leadership days are over.

Great leaders empower others to reach their full potential to support their vision.

All the extraordinarily successful owners of companies such as Google, Microsoft and Dell have empowered other great leaders to support their company and vision. They cannot run the company by themselves and they have a high belief in the capability of others. By empowering the best leaders around them, they also continuously learn and become even greater leaders themselves. This in turns creates a nucleus of great leaders and creates a mind-bogglingly successful company or team.

The great leaders always, always find a way to win.

Great leaders do not accept defeat. Winston Churchill or even the great sports leaders such as Michael Jordan always found ways to rise above the challenge. And their passion profoundly influenced everybody around them to rally together and become victorious. Great leaders will do everything in their power to prevail. Through uniting people towards a common cause, using a variety of people's skills and never accepting defeat, the greatest leaders are born.

1. Great leaders Influence other people by understanding them and gaining their trust and support.

2. Great leaders empower others to reach their full potential to support their vision.

3. The great leaders always, always find a way to win.

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Terry Vermeylen is one of those rare people that is passionately driven to help others unlock their own barriers toward fulfillment, meaning and purpose. He is the founder of http://www.mylifechanges.com/, an Internet value identification and goal setting enterprise.