American presidents come and go throughout history, but think about the presidents that you regard as great leaders. Regardless of their political persuasion, do historically successful presidential leaders have common natural talents and traits? 

Accomplishments Compared

More specifically, let’s compare presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson*. Both presidents were successful on many points. Here’s a brief look at their accomplishments –

John Adams

• Massachusetts Delegate and Leading member of the Continental Congress
• Leading advocate and signer of the Declaration of Independence
• Author, Massachusetts Constitution
• Diplomat to France
• Negotiator and signor of the Paris Peace Accord ending the war with England
• Minister to England
• First U.S. Vice President
• Second U.S. President
• President of the Massachusetts Society of Arts and Sciences

Thomas Jefferson

• Delegate to the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress
• Author of the Declaration of Independence
• Governor of Virginia
• Diplomat to France and delegate to the Paris Peace Talks with Adams
• U.S. Secretary of State
• U.S. Vice-President
• U.S. President (2 Terms)
• Founder of the University of Virginia
• Godfather of John Quincy Adams

“Interesting Fact – Adams and Jefferson died on the same day, July 4^th, 1826. Adams was 90 years old, and Jefferson was 83 years old.”

The Inevitable Comparison

For most of us in society, we tend to have a list of requirements in our minds about the traits of great leaders. Some of them would be –

• Strong
• Charismatic
• Decisive
• Bold
• Fearless
• Intelligent
• Delegator
• Great Communicator

Then, we translate those same traits into our everyday lives and assume that we must have those same traits to be an effective leader; and if you don’t have those traits, then being a leader isn’t your destiny. Nothing could be further from the truth—we’re all leaders whether we realize it or not.

“We’re all leaders whether we realize it or not.”

While Adams and Jefferson each had similar noted achievements, they had very different leadership styles. Through their own personality struggles and challenges, they still found a way to achieve greatness as leaders.

Significant Leadership Trait Differences

In David McCullough’s book, John Adams, he takes an interesting, deeper look at the natural and learned traits of these leaders. Take a look at these behavioral traits and note the remarkable difference between them** –

John Adams

• Take Charge Personality
  • Assertive, self-assured, got results
  • Intolerant of indifference
• Outgoing
  • A talker and entertainer
  • Passionate and good sense of humor
• Fast-Paced
  • Controlling, Never learned to flatter
  • Cranky, impulsive, tactless
• Spontaneous
  • Struggled with bringing order to his life
  • Had difficulty staying  focused on one thing at a time

Thomas Jefferson

• Cooperative
  • Subtle, soft-spoken
  • Moved slowly, cautious
• Reserved
  • Remote, little sense of humor
  • Rarely revealed his inner feelings
• Patient
  • Gracious, rarely disagreed with anyone publicly
  • Avoided dispute and confrontation
• Planned
  • Always polite, diplomatic
  • Neat, kept letter perfect records, detailed