When you get to my age, you involuntarily start to read the obituaries column. A little morbid perhaps, but there can be lessons to be learned from other people’s lives, says Michael Jackson.

Recently one obituary caught my eye. I quote: "A natural born leader with great aplomb – and quiet courage; in everything he did he required the highest standard of organisation while caring for all his sailors."

In many ways, this quote encapsulates the attributes that I believe make a great leader; after all, to get people to risk their lives for you requires exceptional personal talent.

Caring for your sailors
Obvious stuff – to care for your people – but how do you do it? Let’s take pay. Always try and be ahead of any key high achievers. If you sense they feel that they are not being paid enough for what they have achieved, make sure you initiate the discussion on salary increases or special bonuses. This makes your team feel that you really care – and it generally ends up costing you less.

A trick that American companies are particularly good at is recognising the importance of an employee’s ‘partner’. A former boss’ best bonus to me was a trip to Paris for my first wife and I. It didn’t save the marriage, but it did earn me a hell of a lot of brownie points at the time.

I shan’t dwell too much longer on HR, as I am told this is not my strongest suit, but I recommend that you make sure that there are light-hearted moments during the day. I often have bets with people on whether a particular deal will happen. It generally involves detailed haggling on the odds, and all of this adds to the fun.

Highest standard of organisation
Most people would say that Napoleon was one of the world’s most charismatic leaders, but if you read any of the many biographies written about him, the attribute that stands out was his ability to feed and equip his armies under the most difficult circumstances; in short, his organisation.

Now this does not mean that the leader himself is a great organiser, but it does mean that he understands how important it is and he can delegate.

In many ways I would describe delegation as the key issue in any organisation. It is the ability to genuinely empower people so they not only feel responsible but also actually do take real responsibility for their part of the business. Delegation and empowerment must be properly controlled, of course, or a ‘Leeson’ debacle could happen.

The ability to control comes from a deep knowledge of your business. The exceptional leader has an uncanny knack of knowing what the real pressure points are in any given situation and what the lead indicators are that mean problems or opportunities.

Quiet courage
I touched on this in one of my recent articles, but good leaders are prepared to take courageous business decisions. This may range from hiring and firing, changing the business model or your pricing structure to selling or acquiring businesses or business assets.

In all these areas, good judgement is all-important. To make correct decisions, not just foolhardy ones, the leader has to invest real time in thinking through the issues. ‘Quiet’ for me means the ability to take your time and reflect, not to rush into things on the spur of the moment.