Writing for Forbes, Meghan M. Biro writes about an important trait in a leader: empathy.

Biro writes: “Make a list of the 5 leaders you most admire. The chances are high that your admiration is based on more than their accomplishments, impressive as those may be. I’ll bet that everyone on your list reaches you on an emotional level.”

Biro explains that all great leaders have the ability to rise above the rational and inspire us. The best leaders, even some who are no longer with us, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., had such sense of this almost spiritual connection can inspire us even after they are gone.

Biro relates that great leaders all have a keen grasp on empathy. They have the ability to read people’s often unconscious or unstated needs. This allows these leaders an insight with which to speak to people in terms that are meaningful to them. Brio writes, “When people feel they are understood … they respond … and a bond is formed.”