I'm the former VP of HR at Microsoft. I've met a few outstanding leaders in my 40-year career — and they almost all had these 4 traits.

• Chris Williams is a former Microsoft VP of HR and a podcaster, consultant, and TikTok creator.
• He writes that great leaders have empathy and see each individual on their teams. 
• Williams also says that the best leaders are almost serene.

In my over 40 years of business, including being the vice president of HR at Microsoft, I've been fortunate to work with and observe some outstanding leaders. The best had many good qualities, and these were the ones I found common in all of them.

I've previously written on traits shared by bad managers. It's worth noting the difference in phrasing I'm using here: bad managers vs. great leaders.