written by Modern-day leaders face profound and complex challenges, such as legislative changes, political conflicts, or the rapid development of artificial intelligence. Under these conditions, they must make decisions that affect the lives of those who follow them in the workplace. In this constantly changing environment, it is essential for leaders to understand why people remain loyal to them.
The latest Gallup study, which details the results of surveys conducted in 52 countries, is based on decades of research into what people expect from their leaders. Above all, the data confirms that employees who have at least one manager they follow at work need a sense of hope from their leaders. Trust is the second most important need, followed by compassion and then stability. These four needs are consistent, regardless of the country, demographic, or the leader analyzed.
Additionally, these needs are linked to well-being and engagement: the more leaders meet these needs, the more secure employees’ psychological comfort becomes.
Clear and Simple
In 2024, Gallup sought to better understand how people around the world perceive leaders and their contributions to their lives. In this study, Gallup asked two simple questions:
- Which leader has the most positive influence on your daily life?
- List three words that best describe the contributions of this person in your life.
Leaders need to understand the four main needs of their followers: hope, trust, compassion, and stability. They need to know themselves and invest in their strengths to understand the demands and expectations associated with their specific leadership role.
The Path to a Positive Future
Hope is the primary need of staff worldwide. Over half (56%) of all characteristics associated with influential leaders in daily life relate to the theme of hope, far surpassing the next most important need, trust (33%). Many people evaluate their lives so negatively that they lose confidence in themselves when leaders fail to provide positive feedback. Although the feeling of suffering is relatively rare at work, it diminishes as leaders fulfill more of their employees’ four core needs.
Among those who do not associate a sense of hope with the leader who has the greatest influence in their life, 33% are classified as thriving, while 9% are considered to be struggling with depression. However, once the need for hope is satisfied, the percentage of those who thrive increases to 38%, while the percentage of those suffering drops to 6%.
Workplace leaders have a tremendous capacity to have a positive impact on their employees. Employees who work with a manager are only slightly more likely to name someone from their workplace (34%) than to name a family member (44%) as the leader or person who has the most positive impact on their lives.
3 Essential Elements for Success
According to Gallup, to face constantly evolving challenges, leaders must understand three essential elements for success:
- Understand the needs of your employees
A leader without a team is not a leader. Everything that leaders do affects those they lead, and the best leaders act with their employees’ needs in mind. However, to do this, they must first understand these needs and do everything possible to meet them. If they fail, they risk losing talent.
Gallup’s research shows that what employees expect from their leaders remains largely constant over time and across different countries. A team needs a sense of hope and something to look forward to with confidence. Leaders can play an active role in building hope by choosing to initiate change rather than merely reacting to it. Above all, we must understand that hope means the belief that the future will be better than the present, which motivates people to make it so.
The team must trust that the leader keeps promises and can be trusted to act with integrity. Trust is the solid foundation of human relationships, as people can collaborate more effectively toward their common goals when trust exists. Employees also need to feel compassion from their leaders and know that their leaders care about them. Finally, they need a sense of stability from their leaders—someone they can rely on in difficult times and who holds strong core values.
- Self-awareness
Leaders cannot meet the needs of their subordinates if they do not first know themselves. Good leaders develop and invest in their strengths to succeed in their roles. Understanding natural talents and turning them into strengths through knowledge and skills can open new ways to lead and make the most of what they do best.
Problems arise when leaders believe they need to copy the style of other leaders they admire. Many fall into the trap of spending most of their time trying to fix their weaknesses instead of maximizing their strengths to compensate for those weaknesses. The best leaders do the opposite: they abandon conventional methods and focus on what they naturally do best.
- Understanding the demands of the role
Successful leaders have a deep understanding of the specific requirements of their leadership role and the expectations associated with it. Once they understand both their employees’ needs and their personal strengths, leaders must learn how to best apply these strengths according to the demands of their role.
As we navigate an era marked by rapid technological advances, the ability to adapt and respond to new challenges is more important than ever. Gallup’s research on employees’ needs provides a model for current and future leaders. Today’s leaders face numerous challenges and opportunities. The most influential leaders in people’s lives, regardless of where they live or who they are, can meet these challenges and opportunities by demonstrating the four fundamental traits above: hope, trust, compassion, and stability. Of these, hope and trust are essential if we analyze what people seek in a leader. Generation Z, for example, feels a greater need for hope compared to trust. The same is true for organizational leaders.
