Generally leadership is a pretty thankless job @zord189. And those who are good leaders are often taken for granted... those around them perhaps appreciate what they do, but on the whole there is an attitude of "he/she was just doing what they were supposed to!" You don't get a parade. You don't get a party.

I suppose the reward comes in simply seeing that things turned out well as a result of you and your team having done their best.

I also think we hear more about bad leaders, because they have a tendency to be more egocentric and about demanding recognition... even if they weren't all that effective. Think of all the world's dictators and sketchy politicians... who must be "worshiped," even though they do very little to warrant it...