There's a charismatic style of leadership that can sometimes and unintentionally eclipse those being led. Charismatic leaders come into a space and seem to take up all the attention and focus. While this can inspire, it can also leave less space in the room (less attention, less focus) for others. One of my favorite leaders was a basketball coach named K.C. Jones, who led the great Boston Celtics team of the early 1980s. Jones was the very definition of a quiet and unassuming leader. He spoke quietly, if at all, and let the players do the talking -- not just with the media, but on the basketball court too.

That Celtic team was filled with Hall of Famers, from Larry Bird to Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. What Jones's "leadership" enabled was the development of leaders among the ranks of players, and it worked wonderfully well. Jones empowered and got the respect of all, but in a quiet way that grew on people. I don't believe Celtic players and fans truly appreciated Jones's impact until he'd left.

Charismatic leaders need to be careful in order to empower others. They must give space for others to develop. When a team is waiting for leadership, they don't catalyze themselves. This is a long-term problem for the team. Great leaders create other great leaders, giving them room to grow. Taking up all the air in the room doesn't let people grow. For example, several members of that K.C. Jones/Celtics team would become future NBA coaches and General Managers.

Humility is one of the most undervalued (and woefully underused) leadership traits. A leader with humility understands, and clearly communicates, that everyone in the organization is important and helps contribute to success. This is more than just a slogan, and recognizing contributions should be the primary role of the leader. Why? Because such recognition empowers and helps people grow in confidence while teaching them to take initiative. Recognizing that everyone contributes is also a reflection of the way things work in the real world.

A final thought: leaders shouldn't seem to be the smartest person in the room. It's better to ask the most questions, or share the most credit for contributions. As I wrote in a recent blog post on managing with humility [http://www.middlemarketcenter.org/expert-perspectives/managers-cant-know-everything-6-tips-for-managing-outside-your-areas-of-expertise]:

"You can gain credibility and disarm even the most unapproachable expert by saying things such as, "I'm still learning here, so could you help me understand why X works better than Y?" Stop needing to be the smartest person in the room; others will appreciate your humility. You might remember the beloved 1970s television detective Columbo, played by actor Peter Falk, whose entire schtick was playing dumb in order to discover the truth. The raincoat-clad detective solved all his cases by asking basic, self-effacing questions: "Maybe I'm stupid, but X doesn't make sense to me" and "You know, I'm not the smartest guy around here, but X seems a bit confusing. Could you help me understand it?" Your reports will respect your humble questions — more than the criminals Columbo put behind bars."

Boston-based Chuck Leddy is a freelance business writer and a business communication trainer who works with executives from Fortune 500 companies.