Leadership seems to be more about the quality of being rather than the ability to give orders or boss people around. Great leaders blend general virtues into a strong individualism that permeates their thoughts, actions and results. Becoming a leader is, in a sense, becoming self-actualized and expressing that self-actualization in the medium of inspiring others to do their best; or better. If a leader is actualizing along a spectrum of virtue, her results tend toward the positive. If he is actualizing along a spectrum of vice, his results will tend toward the negative. At least positive and negative from our limited perspectives.
What are some characteristics of leaders? Here is one list: Judgement, Justice, Decisiveness, Initiative, Dependability, Tact, Integrity, Endurance, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, Enthusiasm.
There are many other lists of virtues including the 7 Heavenly virtues and the Knightly virtues. A cursory overview shows there is definitely quite a bit of overlap.
To be a good leader (not an evil leader), is to be consistent with virtue expressed along an idiosyncratic path toward self-actualization. Being, then becoming, never arriving.
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