The Four Obsessions of Great Leaders
Mar 16, 2025
Thank heavens, leadership is about more than making decisions and managing people—it’s about building something that makes a lasting positive impact. Would anyone actually go to all the effort and endure all the stress, if it weren’t?
I’ve spent decades living the trials and errors of leadership. In my early 30’s I realized I didn’t know what I didn’t know. It was truly an epiphany and that made me a voracious reader of leadership books. I fell in love with learning. And what good is learning something if you don’t share it with others? That’s why I really enjoy writing this leadership blog each week.
Today I’m digging into another one of my favorite authors, New York Times bestseller Patrick Lencioni. He truly writes unique leadership fables that use fictitious stories to help us learn how to overcome obstacles to success through leadership. He’s probably best known for his book The Five Dysfunctions of Team, but that’s not the one I want to discuss today.
In The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, Lencioni breaks leadership down to its core and reveals four key areas that separate great leaders from average ones. Spoiler alert: It’s not about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about creating clarity, consistency, and culture.
- Build and Maintain a Cohesive Leadership Team
This isn’t easy. Heck, nothing in leadership is easy. I bonded with that a long time ago. The foundation of any great organization starts at the top. If your leadership team isn’t united, how can you expect the rest of the company to be? Lencioni argues that a strong leadership team must have:
- Trust—The kind that allows for open, honest conversations without fear.
- Healthy Conflict—Not personal attacks, but the willingness to challenge ideas for the sake of better solutions.
- Commitment—Alignment on decisions, even if everyone doesn’t fully agree.
- Accountability—Holding each other responsible for results and behavior.
Think about it: If the leadership team is dysfunctional, the entire organization will feel the effects. That’s why extraordinary executives prioritize building a team that operates with trust and unity.
2. Create Organizational Clarity
Ever worked somewhere where no one really knew what the company stood for? It’s frustrating. Employees need to know the mission, vision, and core values—and those things need to be crystal clear.
Lencioni believes great leaders obsess over answering these critical questions:
- Why do we exist? (Purpose)
- How do we behave? (Core values)
- What do we do? (Products/services)
- How will we succeed? (Strategy)
When an organization has clarity, decisions become easier, and employees are empowered to act in alignment with the company’s mission. Without it? Confusion, mixed messages, and inconsistency rule the day.
3. Over-Communicate Organizational Clarity
Here’s the reality: Most leaders assume if they say something once, everyone gets it. That’s not how communication works. People need to hear things multiple times before it really sticks.
Lencioni stresses the importance of over-communicating key messages. This doesn’t mean repeating things in a robotic way—it means weaving the core message into meetings, emails, presentations, and daily interactions.
Extraordinary executives know that just when they’re getting tired of saying something, their team is probably hearing it for the first time.
4. Reinforce Clarity Through Human Systems
This is where many leaders drop the ball. You can have a strong leadership team and a clear vision, but if you don’t reinforce it through hiring, training, performance management, and rewards, it won’t last.
Lencioni’s advice: Make sure your systems match your message.
- Hire people who align with your culture.
- Train employees in a way that reinforces your core values.
- Reward behaviors that reflect the company’s mission.
When systems and processes are aligned with an organization’s clarity, culture doesn’t just become words on a wall—it becomes reality.
The Legacy of Extraordinary Leaders
Lencioni makes it clear: Leadership is about creating an environment where people thrive, decisions are clear, and culture is intentional.
If you want to be an extraordinary leader, ask yourself:
- Is my leadership team truly cohesive?
- Does my organization have real clarity, or are we just assuming people get it?
- Am I communicating our mission enough?
- Do our systems and processes reinforce what we stand for?
When you obsess over these four things, you don’t just lead—you build something that lasts. And that’s what extraordinary leadership is all about.