Good leadership, in one idea
What it is, why it matters and what it has to do with good governance. Start with the simple part; the data and the sources are at the end, for anyone who wants to dig in.
Leading is an activity. You do it every day, in every decision and every conversation, and that is why it can be done well or badly.
For a long time we treated it as a personal trait: you either had it or you didn’t. Something similar happened with how organizations are run. First there was governance. When it proved not to be enough, good governance was born, with rules to tell when it is done well.
Good governance, however, does not guarantee good leadership. An organization can have every rule in order and still be poorly led. That gap is the reason these principles exist.
That is why they appeal to the human factor: what the person in charge does with the people they lead. That is where the success of any organization is decided, and no rule reaches that far.
What good leadership is
Leading well means exceeding goals by growing people.
People grow first, and that is why goals get exceeded. Leaders who chase results by wearing their team down get them once; leaders who grow their team get them every year, and go further each time.
For anyone who leads people or is about to, and answers for results. What counts is the weight of your decisions more than your title: it applies to a team of six and to a company of six hundred.
These are behaviors your team can observe, organized into seven principles, and anyone can test themselves against them.
Why it matters
Companies already have rules, and they follow them. Even so, the big failures keep coming. Three numbers explain why.
of their corporate governance code is met, on average, by Spanish listed companies. The rules get followed.
CNMV, 2025 [22]That is where Enron’s board ranked in 2000, among the five best in the United States. A year later, the company had gone bankrupt.
U.S. Senate, 2002 [18]of the difference in engagement between teams is explained by the person who leads them. What happens depends on that person.
Gallup, 2015 [11]Rules don’t follow themselves: someone follows them, enforces them or hollows them out. That someone is whoever leads.
And what is good governance?
If you have never looked into it, this is all you need: good governance is the set of rules of the game in an organization, and good leadership is the way the game gets played every day.
The rules of the game
- Who decides what.
- Who makes sure it gets done.
- Who you answer to.
- What is protected, no matter what.
It is written into laws, codes and bylaws. The board, or whoever runs the organization, is in charge of it.
How the game is played
- What gets said in the Monday meeting.
- What happens when bad news arrives.
- Who gets prepared to take over.
- What actually gets rewarded.
It shows in the behavior of whoever leads. Anyone with a team practices it.
An organization stands like a triangle. Good governance is the base; management and leadership are the two sides that rise from it. Each side answers a different question, even though the same person often answers both.
- The baseGovernance
- What must be protected, decided and overseen.
- Aims for legitimate, sustainable direction.
- A sideManagement
- How resources and execution are organized.
- Aims for efficiency and compliance.
- A sideLeadership
- How people's judgment and behavior are mobilized.
- Aims for collective capacity to act.
How the two fit together
Cross the rules with the behavior of whoever leads. Only in the top right do they say the same thing; the bottom right is where the hidden risk sits.
There is good leadership and the rules are missing. It works while the person in charge is there; when they leave, nothing holds it up.
Risk: successionThe rules say what has to be done and behavior does it. This is what lasts, and what we are after.
The goalNeither rules nor good leadership. The problem is plain to see, and that is why it can be fixed.
Risk: visibleBoard, committees and code all in order, and behavior that ignores them. Enron was here.
Risk: hidden, the costliestFrequently asked questions
What is good leadership?
Leading well means exceeding goals by growing people. People come first: when they grow, results go further than planned, and they last.
Why exceed goals, and not just reach them?
Because getting results is the floor: you can get results even while falling short of your targets. Good leadership aims to go beyond what it set out to do, and it gets there through people.
Can good leadership be learned?
Yes, under certain conditions. The largest meta-analysis available finds that leadership training transfers to the job when there is practice, spacing, and feedback. At the top-executive level, that transfer is weaker.
How does it relate to good governance?
Good governance sets an organization’s rules; good leadership decides whether they are followed when nobody is watching. In most companies, which have no board, good governance is simply the behavior of whoever leads them.
Go deeper
The study, the good governance frameworks and the data, folded away. Open them only if they interest you.
From good governance to good leadership, the full storyFrom the governance crisis of 1989 to the Principles, in five paragraphs with their sources.
Good governance is a settled idea. In 1989 the World Bank spoke for the first time of a crisis of governance. In 1992 the Cadbury Report brought it to business: corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. Then came the OECD principles, laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the United Nations' Goal 16 and the international standard ISO 37000. In Spain, listed companies follow on average 88.2% of the recommendations in their governance code. [27][28][29][30][31][13][22]
And still, the great failures happened with the structure in order. In 2000, Chief Executive magazine named Enron's board one of the five best in the United States; by the end of 2001, Enron was bankrupt. Wells Fargo and Boeing also had a board, committees, a code and an auditor, and the official investigations pointed to the culture and behavior of the people in charge. Yale's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld summed it up in Harvard Business Review in 2002, after finding that the boards that had failed followed most of the accepted rules: what sets a board apart is how its people work together. [18][19][20][32]
Rules don't keep themselves. Someone keeps them, enforces them or hollows them out: the person in charge. The individual executive explains a significant share of how a company invests, raises money and organizes itself, and the person who manages a team accounts for at least 70% of the variance in engagement across teams. The standards themselves recognize it: ISO 37000 asks the governing body to lead the organization ethically and effectively. [17][11][13]
In most organizations, good governance is one person. In Spain, 99.8% of companies are small or medium-sized, and more than half have no employees. Most have no board and no committees. Their good governance is the behavior of the person who runs them. [24]
That is where good leadership comes from. Good leadership is good governance carried into the behavior of anyone who leads people: principles you can keep, observe and require, like those in a code, in the daily life of a team. Governance rules set the floor. The Principles of Good Leadership describe what you can see above it. [1]
Eight findings from the studyWhat the data says about rules, failures and whoever leads.
- The rules already exist, and they are followed.
Since 1989, good governance has gone from a World Bank concept to law, code and directive. In Spain, listed companies follow on average 88.2% of the recommendations in their governance code.
[22] - The standards themselves already require leadership.
ISO 37000 asks the governing body to lead the organization “ethically and effectively,” and the UK regulator makes the chief executive the first person responsible for setting the example.
[13][14] - The world is falling short of what it set out to do.
Only 15% of the Sustainable Development Goal targets with data are on track. Another 15% have regressed since 2015.
[25] - The great failures had the structure in order.
Enron, Wells Fargo and Boeing had a board, committees, a code and an auditor. The official investigations point to the culture and behavior of the people in charge, and recent research confirms that board composition is not enough.
[18][19][20] - The costliest fraud comes from the top.
When owners or executives commit it, the median loss is $500,000, more than eight times that of an employee.
[23] - The link is the person in charge.
The manager accounts for at least 70% of the variance in engagement across teams. In Spain, only 10% of employees are engaged.
[11][10] - Most organizations have no board.
In Spain, 99.8% of companies are small or medium-sized, and more than half have no employees. Their good governance is the behavior of the person who runs them.
[24] - Good leadership can be trained, under conditions.
Leadership training transfers to the job when it is practiced and spaced out. In senior management, that transfer is about four times weaker.
[3]
The principles of good governanceThe eleven of ISO 37000 and the six chapters of the G20/OECD Principles.
ISO 37000: eleven principles [55]
- Purpose. The organization's reason for being, which guides everything else.
- Value generation. How it creates, preserves and shares value, and for whom.
- Strategy. The course by which the organization fulfills its purpose.
- Oversight. Making sure the organization performs and delivers what was planned.
- Accountability. Answering for decisions and their effects.
- Stakeholder engagement. Listening to and taking into account those the organization affects.
- Leadership. Leading the organization ethically and effectively, by example.
- Data and decisions. Using information responsibly to make decisions.
- Risk governance. Deciding which risks to take and how to control them.
- Social responsibility. Answering for the impact on society and the environment.
- Viability and performance over time. Making the organization last without mortgaging its future.
G20 and OECD: six chapters [29]
- Ensuring the basis for an effective corporate governance framework.
- The rights and equitable treatment of shareholders and key ownership functions.
- Institutional investors, stock markets, and other intermediaries.
- Disclosure and transparency.
- The responsibilities of the board.
- Sustainability and resilience.
The descriptions of ISO 37000 summarize each principle in our own words.
Good governance and good leadership, side by sideWhat each one governs, who answers for it and where its limit lies.
| Good governance | Good leadership | |
|---|---|---|
| What it governs | How an organization is directed and controlled. | How anyone who leads people conducts themselves. |
| The question | What must be protected, decided and overseen. | How people's judgment and behavior are mobilized. |
| Who answers | The governing body: the board or whoever runs the company. | Anyone who leads people, at any level of the organization. |
| Where it's written | Laws, codes, bylaws and standards such as ISO 37000. | Principles and behaviors you can see from the outside. |
| How it's checked | Reports, audits and the “comply or explain” of the codes. | What the team experiences: behavioral signals checked with the people on the receiving end. |
| Who it reaches | Mostly large companies and listed companies. | Any organization, with or without a board. |
| Since when | World Bank (1989) and Cadbury Report (1992). | A hundred years of ideas on how to lead; these principles, in 2026. |
| Its limit | Rules don't keep themselves. | Without rules, everything depends on who happens to be in charge. |
Each principle, paired with its counterpart in ISO 37000
| Purpose | Purpose · Strategy |
| Preparation | Leadership |
| Trust | Oversight · Data and decisions |
| Growth | Value generation · Viability and performance over time |
| Sustainability | Viability and performance over time · Social responsibility |
| Self-awareness | Accountability · Risk governance |
| Integrity | Leadership · Stakeholder engagement |
A correspondence we propose.
From rule to behaviorEach good governance requirement, with the behavior that meets it and a question for your next meeting.
| What the rule requires | The behavior that makes it real | The question for your next meeting |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency | Bad news travels up fast, and whoever brings it doesn't pay for it. | What was the last piece of bad news that reached me late, and why? |
| Board independence | Someone in the room says no, and is thanked for it. | When did we last vote on something without unanimity? |
| Accountability | Whoever leads answers for their own example as well as for other people's results. | Who can tell me to my face what I'm doing wrong? |
| Whistleblowing channel | Using it isn't frightening, because people have already seen what happens when someone speaks up. | What happened to the last person who raised their hand? |
| Board evaluation | It's done to learn, with someone from outside, and something changes. | What did we change after the last evaluation? |
| Diversity | Different voices change decisions, beyond the group photo. | Which decision changed because someone thought differently? |
| Sustainability reporting | What gets reported matches what gets rewarded. | Do we reward the same things we publish? |
Five responsibilities of the boardHow a board can oversee leadership without claiming to set a standard.
- Define
What leading well means here and which capabilities the strategy demands, specific to this organization.
- Align
Whether hiring, promotions, incentives and goals reward the behavior the organization declares, or its opposite.
- Observe
Through several lenses at once: the leader's, the team's, observable behavior and results in context.
- Develop
With practice, feedback and follow-up. What counts is the change in behavior, measured on the job.
- Respond
Act when the system tolerates behavior that clashes with its values, even if it delivers results.
Signals work better than a scoreWhat to watch to know whether leadership is going well before it shows in the numbers.
| What to watch | Warning signals | Confirming signals |
|---|---|---|
| Voice | Quality of debate, disagreement that gets voiced | Problems that don't surface, late surprises |
| Development | Feedback, delegation, internal mobility | Internal promotions, ready successors, retention |
| Execution | Clear priorities, timely decisions | Goals met, speed of adaptation |
| Relationships | Trust, safety to speak up | Entrenched conflicts, avoidable turnover |
| Sustainability | Workload, rest, boundaries | Absenteeism, burnout, sick leave |
| Integrity | Consistency, decisions under pressure | Breaches, sanctioned behavior |
A hundred years of ideas about how to leadWhat each era understood by a good leader, alongside good governance.
- 1910-1930
Scientific management
- 1911 Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management: measure and standardize every task [33]
- 1916 Fayol: plan, organize, command, coordinate and control [34]
- No good governance rules yet.
A good leader was someone who organizes the work and makes sure it gets done efficiently.
- 1930-1950
Human relations and traits
- 1933 Mayo, after the Hawthorne studies: the group and attention weigh on performance [35]
- 1948 Stogdill reviews 124 studies: traits alone don't explain leadership [36]
- No good governance rules yet.
A good leader was someone with certain character traits who also looks after the group's climate.
- 1950-1970
Styles and contingency
- 1953 Ohio State studies: consideration and structure, two dimensions of behavior [37]
- 1954 Drucker: management by objectives [38]
- 1960 McGregor, Theory X and Theory Y: what bosses believe about their people changes how they lead [39]
- 1964 Blake and Mouton, the Managerial Grid: task and people at once [40]
- 1967 Fiedler: no single style is right for every situation [41]
- 1969 Hersey and Blanchard: style adjusts to the team's maturity [42]
- No good governance rules yet.
A good leader was someone who sets goals and adapts their style, between task and people, to each situation.
- 1970-1990
Service, transformation and quality
- 1970 Greenleaf, servant leadership: the test is whether those who follow you grow [43]
- 1978 Burns: transactional and transformational leadership [44]
- 1985 Bass: leadership that goes beyond expectations [45]
- 1986 Deming: quality depends on the system management designs [46]
- 1989 The World Bank speaks of a crisis of governance [27]
A good leader was someone who inspires and transforms their team, or serves it so it can grow.
- 1990-2002
Learning, emotions and the first rules
A good leader was someone who learns, manages their emotions and combines humility with will.
- 2003-2015
Ethics and authenticity
- 2003 George, authentic leadership [51]
- 2005 Brown, Treviño and Harrison define ethical leadership [16]
- 2005 Avolio and Gardner: authentic leadership development [52]
- 2015 Gallup: managers account for at least 70% of the variance in engagement across teams [11]
- 2015 UN Goal 16 and the Spanish governance code for listed companies (CNMV) [31]
A good leader was someone who knows themselves, acts with integrity and makes ethics visible in their decisions.
- 2016-2026
Culture reaches the board
A good leader was someone who builds a culture where people can tell the truth and grow.
- Today
The Principles of Good Leadership
A good leader is someone who exceeds goals by growing people: the behavior that makes the rules come true.
“A good leader was” sums up how each era understood it. It is our own reading of the works cited.
The full study and the sources“Del Buen Gobierno al Buen Liderazgo” (in Spanish), with 79 sources and a CC BY 4.0 license.
Read the full study (in Spanish)
- Report (2026). Del Buen Gobierno al Buen Liderazgo [From Good Governance to Good Leadership], version 2.0, 12 chapters and 79 sources. CC BY 4.0 license (in Spanish). inusual.com
- CNMV (2025). Informe de gobierno corporativo de las entidades emisoras. Ejercicio 2024 [Corporate governance report on issuers, fiscal year 2024]. cnmv.es
- ISO (2021; reviewed and confirmed in 2026). ISO 37000:2021 Governance of organizations — Guidance, principle 6.7, “Leadership.” iso.org
- ISO/TC 309 (2021). ISO 37000 — the first ever international benchmark for good governance, the eleven principles. iso.org
- OECD (2023). G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance; Recommendation OECD/LEGAL/0413. oecd.org
- Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance (1992). Report (Cadbury Report), section 2.5. ecgi.global
- World Bank (1989). Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth, p. 60. worldbank.org
- Financial Reporting Council (2024; updated June 3, 2026). Corporate Governance Code Guidance. frc.org.uk
- United Nations (2026). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026. unstats.un.org
- U.S. Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (2002). The Role of the Board of Directors in Enron's Collapse, S. Prt. 107-70. govinfo.gov
- Wells Fargo Board of Directors (2017). Sales Practices Investigation Report. ucla.edu
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives (2020). Final committee report: The design, development & certification of the Boeing 737 MAX. house.gov
- ACFE (2024). Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations. acfe.com
- Beck, R., & Harter, J. (2015). Managers account for 70% of variance in employee engagement. Gallup Business Journal. gallup.com
- Gallup (2026). State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report. gallup.com
- Ministry of Industry and Tourism, Spain (2026). Cifras PYME [SME figures], July 2026 data. ipyme.org
- Muir, W. M. (1996). Group selection for adaptation to multiple-hen cages: Selection program and direct responses. Poultry Science, 75(4), 447-458. doi.org/10.3382/ps.0750447
- Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., & Malone, T. W. (2010). Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. Science, 330(6004), 686-688. doi.org/10.1126/science.1193147
- Lacerenza, C. N., Reyes, D. L., Marlow, S. L., Joseph, D. L., & Salas, E. (2017). Leadership training design, delivery, and implementation: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(12), 1686-1718. doi.org/10.1037/apl0000241
Good Leadership (2026). The concept: what good leadership is and what it has to do with good governance. Version 1.0. buenliderazgo.org/en/concept/. License CC BY 4.0.