1. Maintain cool and sense of humor, especially during a crisis

2. Tell subordinates when they’re shooting themselves in the foot.

3. Be the boss, but behave like a peer. I’ve worked with loads of CEOs who let their egos get the better of them. They act like they’re better than everyone else, are distant and emotionally detached, or flaunt their knowledge and power. That kind of behavior diminishes leaders, makes them seem small, and keeps them from really connecting with people.

4. Let your guard down and really be yourself outside of work. All you really need to do outside of work to build a cohesive team is break some bread, have some refreshments, relax, let your guard down, and be a regular human being. When you get to be really confident, you can be that way all the time. That’s the mark of a great leader.

5. Stand behind and make big bets on people you believe in. One CEO would constantly challenge you and your thinking to the point of being abusive. But once he trusted and believed in you, he put his full weight behind you 100 percent to help you succeed. He’d stand up for you even when he wasn’t sure what the heck you were up to. And he’d give you new functional responsibilities

6. Complement your subordinate’s weaknesses

7. Compliment your employee’s strengths. It takes a strong, confident leader to go out on a limb and tell an employee what they’re great at.

8. Teach the toughest, most painful lessons you’ve ever learned. As a young manager, I once asked my boss’s boss for advice about a promotion I didn’t get. He told me a candid story about the hardest lesson he’d ever learned, the reason he was stuck in his job. He made himself indispensable and didn’t groom his replacement. It was painful for him to share, but it opened my eyes and made a huge difference in my career.

9. Do the right thing. Just about everyone says it, when he said it to you, it meant he trusted you to do just that. He also meant it regardless of status quo or consequences. He had extraordinary faith in that phrase. Now I do too.

10. Do what has to be done, no matter what. It’s a rare executive who jumps on a plane at a moment’s notice to close a deal or gives an impromptu presentation when a potential investor shows up unexpectedly. He just does what has to be done. It’s the mark of a great manager who will find success, that’s for sure.