Leadership is not an inherent ability. Great leaders develop over time, exhibiting the qualities, beliefs and core values that draw people in and forge them together toward a unified goal.

Throughout history, great leaders have helped create societies, built companies from the ground up and organized large groups of people to work toward a common cause. They have opened the eyes of many to fantastic possibilities and spearheaded research that fueled technological advances.

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers,” said retired U.S. Gen. Colin Powell, “who can cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.”

Here are 10 traits that the best leaders naturally embrace:

Empowerment: Great leaders are only as good as the people that they inspire. The ability to create a groundswell, a movement, comes from making people believe they are important to the cause. Sam Walton, the man who founded Walmart, knew this.

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel,” Walton once said. “If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”

Emotional intelligence: Great leaders know that people often look to them to determine how the masses should feel about a certain situation. If the leader is discouraged, morale among the workers will follow suit. Emotional intelligence is the act of focusing on the positive, of rallying people with the same positive disposition and of acting, when necessary, with assertiveness that navigates a particular problem without creating animosity.

Logic: Sometimes a hunch or a gut feeling must be taken into account when leading, but more often leaders who approach issues logically with sound reason and rational thought will achieve greater success.

Solutions, not problems: Crunch time is what’s referred to as that period just before an assignment is due or an action is about to be undertaken. Ensuring that everyone is focused and working in concert to achieve a goal as opposed to fretting about a handful of myriad minor issues is what separates a leader from the pack.

As Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”

Making others better: Much like empowerment, great leaders want to encourage greatness from those around them. They want to forge new leaders by cultivating personal and professional development, instilling confidence and allowing for team members to exhibit innovation without fear of reprisal if the idea works and helps achieve success.

Think outside the box: Just because it’s the way that things have always been done doesn't mean that it’s the right way or the only way. Leaders come up with new ideas that allow for change to the status quo, when necessary, by asking questions and honestly assessing what works and what can be improved.

Steve Jobs, the technological whiz who helped co-found Apple Computers, changed the way humans interact with themselves, each other and many forms of media with the advent of Apple technology. “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes,” Jobs once said. “It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”

Communication: The best ideas sometimes never get realized because they weren't communicated. Great leaders effectively harness creativity in others by providing clear, consistent, credible, confident, civil, concise and compassionate direction to their team. These seven “C’s” can mean the difference between a middling manager and a truly effective leader.

Making decisions: It can be the toughest test that a leader faces, making a difficult decision that might not be popular but that achieves results. Great leaders consider the impact of big decisions on the people surrounding them. They understand that loyalty must be earned and nurtured, not taken for granted. They make the tough call because often, not taking action is worse than making a bad decision. But they know too that communicating about the decision, sharing why they believe it is the right thing to do, can engender others to the same belief.

Listen: It takes a good listener to be a great leader. Listening to other ideas, objections or observations can present a more complete picture of the issue at hand, thereby allowing for the best decision to be made. Individuals who talk more than listen fail to take into account everything they might need to know.

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, is regarded as one of the best business leaders in recent memory, one whose fingerprints are imbedded on a host of entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavors. In September 2014, he shared with Forbes magazine his three leadership principles, which include learning and laughing. His number one rule, however, is listening.

“Listening enables us to learn from each other, from the marketplace and from the mistake that must be made in order to get anywhere that is original and disruptive,” he said. “I learn so much from guests and employees that way.”

Learn: Albert Einstein once said, “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” Learning is one of the core tenets of a great leader, the ability to constantly grow through education, experience and shared ideas. Leaders learn from past mistakes, they learn from challenging their own assumptions and they learn from watching others’ mistakes by not following the same path.