Decades ago, many people believed that a leader had to be pushy, aggressive, and sometimes even mean to be successful. Leaders were often envisioned as strong, pugnacious warrior types. Although extensive studies on productivity and workplace culture have long disproved that idea, the last few years have seen a reemergence of this false concept.

In this article, Eric Solomon (who has held leadership roles in major social media companies) takes a closer look at the “Alpha Leader” phenomenon, and shares three research-based characteristics that are commonly found in most truly successful leaders and the organizations they serve. While this was written primarily for a business audience (and featured in SmartBrief), the basic principles that he describes are directly applicable to educational leadership as well.