If you look at the top of the tree and I mean the very top. You will find a rare breed indeed. I've studied the giddy heights of leadership at length and this is what I've managed to glean.

1. Integrity

The higher they climb the more individuals are tested. They wouldn't have made it far at all without some decency. The highest performing and most successful leaders of our age are to a one, honest and trustworthy. 

2. Grafters

They may have the yachts, the swimming pools, and all the trimmings, but the world's best leaders are not afraid of hard work. There are numerous studies and reports to support this observation including author Richard St John who interviewed 500 of the world's most successful leaders and discovered that 80% of them continued to work long hours for their company.

3. Passion

You don't get to lead a fortune 500 company because you 'aced' the interview. It takes dedication and indeed loves to bring out the best in us. Most of the world's most successful business people are in for the long haul because they have an emotional bond with their role.

4. Positive

The world's best leaders are seldom the negative sort. To succeed at the top one needs to own an upbeat can-do nature and as a result, it's no coincidence that the majority of the world's best leaders are generally of a sunny disposition.

5. Proud to Fail

Failure is an option and really strong business leaders know it. By failing we learn from experience and each time we climb a little closer to success. The only real losers in business are those who cling with such desperation to the path that they have no idea what to do when the time comes to change.

6. Empathic

There may be a few psychos in boardrooms the world over, but at the very top, the key to success is understanding your staff and being sensitive to their needs. Understanding people has helped leaders across history stay ahead of the field, as discovered by an American High school teacher called Jeffrey Pfeffer. Pfeffer studied a number of historical leaders and found out that the leaders all had the capacity to understand what the masses wanted... whether they gave them what they wanted was an individual matter, but each of them did at least understand the needs of others.

7. Creative

It's often easy to do what we think is the right thing, but it takes a visionary to get out of the box and come at the task from another angle. For this reason, the best leaders are able to think in a creative fashion and innovate their way around problems rather than just taking the obvious route.

8. Team players

A strong leader knows the value of their team. Great leaders can see potential in people and are able to foster that potential. Behind each and every one of our top ten leaders is a powerful team full of people they've known for a long time... often from right back at the start.  

9. Innovators

Leaders are not afraid to adopt new ideas, measures, and technology. Indeed it is this acceptance of innovation which enables them to become great in the first place. You can be sure that every time some thing new appeared on the horizon there was a strong business leader who headed straight for it and got the manual out as soon as they were able.

10. Big thinkers

The biggest leaders have the biggest ideas and they are not afraid to start again from scratch if something comes along and looks like it might be better. Combined with a creative streak and a willingness to adopt new tech, strong leaders are capable of thinking on an epic scale which would drown your average CEO or director.