Gallup research identified 4 traits that followers need and want in a leader. Jason Barger provides his insights on the research based on his work within teams and organizations.
SHOW NOTES
Jason introduces Season 9 episode 43 of the podcast, 4 Traits People Need in a Leader. Welcome back to the podcast on corporate culture and leadership and thank you for listening. We engage thought leaders like CEOs, CFOs, managers, VPs, directors, and more for this podcast. We wish to create content that engages your mind and heart and allows you to step back and think and add some positivity to your life. We deep dive into today’s topic.
We can’t control everything but what we can control is our response. Still a lot of work to do but wanted to remind the audience what is within our control is the temperature we create in the organizations and teams we work with.
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
If any of these topics are interesting to you please or you want a deep dive on any specific topics, please reach out to us at info@jasonvbarger.com
4 Traits People Need in a Leader
What separates a good manager from a truly great leader? In a world of high turnover and low engagement, understanding what people actually need from leadership isn’t just a theoretical exercise—it’s the key to building a resilient and high-performing corporate culture.
On a recent episode of The Thermostat Podcast, host Jason V Barger examined a new Gallup study that researched this very question across 52 countries. The findings reveal four universal traits that followers need from the people who lead them. These traits are the foundation for effective leadership in teams and are critical for any organization looking to thrive.
Article Summary
In this episode, Jason V Barger explores a recent Gallup study identifying the four primary traits followers need from their leaders. He explains how these traits—Hope, Trust, Compassion, and Stability—are the bedrock of a positive corporate culture and effective leadership in teams. Barger provides insights on how these characteristics move beyond theory and play out in real-world organizations, ultimately driving engagement, psychological safety, and performance.
1. Hope: Believing in the Future
According to the Gallup research, Hope was the most dominant theme, with 56% of people identifying it as a critical need.
This isn’t about baseless optimism. As Barger explains, hope is about clarity and direction. People want to believe in the future they are creating together.
“People want to believe in the future that you are creating together, and they want to believe in the direction that you’re heading… If it isn’t clear or they don’t believe in where you’re heading… then hope begins to dwindle.”
When leaders provide a clear, compelling vision, it gives the team a sense of purpose. When hope is missing, work becomes transactional, and meaning is lost. A leader’s job is to be the chief articulator of a hopeful, achievable future.
2. Trust: The Foundation of Engagement
The second most-needed trait was Trust, at 33%. This comes as no surprise, especially as Barger notes that other Gallup data shows employee engagement has hit a 10-year low.
Trust, as Barger defines it, isn’t a soft skill; it’s an outcome. It’s the direct result of congruence between a leader’s words and their actions.
“Trust is an outcome based on the day-to-day interactions… we’re always either building trust or deteriorating trust… depending on whether there is congruence between our words and our actions.”
Building trust goes beyond just being nice. It requires leaders to communicate transparently, listen actively, and, perhaps most importantly, be willing to have courageous conversations. Barger notes that when leaders effectively address challenges and hold people to high standards (while still showing support), trust actually increases, rather than decreases.
3. Compassion: Understanding Your People
Coming in third was Compassion. Followers need to know that their leaders genuinely care about them as human beings, not just as cogs in a machine.
Barger frames compassion and empathy as an active process. It’s about “actively [seeking] out to understand their situation and also actively [asking] others their point of view, their perspectives, their feelings as they arrive at solutions together.”
This trait is directly linked to trust. When people feel their leader lacks compassion or isn’t interested in their perspective, trust immediately erodes.
4. Stability: Setting a Consistent Temperature
Finally, followers need Stability. In a chaotic world, the last thing a team needs is a leader who is a “roller coaster of emotions.”
This is where Barger’s core metaphor of the Thermostat leader comes into play. A thermostat doesn’t just react to the temperature in the room (like a thermometer); it sets the temperature.
“People don’t want leaders who are a roller coaster of emotions day in and day out… They set the same temperature day in and day out. And even when challenges and crisis hit, the followers already have a great understanding and belief in the temperature that the leader is going to set.”
This stability provides psychological safety. When team members feel safe and know what to expect from their leader, they can focus on doing their best work instead of navigating emotional volatility.
These four traits—Hope, Trust, Compassion, and Stability—are the building blocks of an intentional, high-performing culture. As Barger concludes, “Cultures don’t just magically happen. They’re intentionally led and shaped by everybody within the cultural ecosystem.”
Notable Quotes
- On Defining Leadership: “How we see leadership impacts how we show up… If we see leadership as being on top of the pyramid… that is how we’ll show up… [The best leaders are] a person who flips that pyramid upside down and serves a mission greater than themselves and coaches people rather than controls them.”
- On Culture Shaping: “Cultures don’t just magically happen. They’re intentionally led and shaped by everybody within the cultural ecosystem.”
- On Trust and Courage: “Leaders that are able and willing to have those courageous conversations, trust actually goes up. So trust isn’t just about being nice or kind or just getting people to like you. It’s about… working together… and willing to have those courageous conversations when things aren’t meeting the standards.”
Questions to Ponder
As you reflect on your own leadership journey, consider these questions from Jason:
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In what ways could you provide hope for the people around you?
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What could you do to help build trust with the people in your life and your work?
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And how could you show compassion and provide stability for those around you?
Links and References
Referenced in this podcast, Traits of Leaders from Gallup, What do people need most from Leaders? – Gallup Link
Follow @JasonVBarger on social media for even more insights and new video content.
For more insights and practical tips, be sure to check out Jason V Barger’s book Breathing Oxygen. This book dives deeper into the concepts discussed in this episode and provides additional strategies for fostering a positive mindset and effective leadership.
By incorporating these practices into your summer routine, you can breathe new life into your personal and professional endeavors. Remember, as Jason says, “The best leaders, teams, and cultures on the planet stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.”
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
If any of these topics are interesting to you please or you want a deep dive on any specific topics, please reach out to us at info@jasonvbarger.com
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Remember, the best leaders, teams, & cultures stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.
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ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT
Conversations and micro-thoughts to engage your mind and heart.
A thermostat is proactive. It sets the temperature in a room. Controls the temperature. Regulates the temperature. But in today’s distracted, fast-paced and digital world, it’s easy for individuals and organizations to act more like thermometers, slipping into reactionary thinking, becoming scattered and inconsistent. The most compelling leaders, teams, organizations, families, or collection of humans of any kind operate in thermostat mode. They calibrate their mind and heart to set the temperature for the vision and culture they want to create. Jason Barger, globally celebrated author, keynote speaker, and founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, is the host of The Thermostat, a podcast journey to discover authentic leadership, create compelling cultures and find clarity of mission, vision, and values.