An effective leader is a person with a passion for a cause that is larger than they are, someone who is taking action, trying to get others to do something they want to see done. Someone with a dream and a vision that will better society, or at least, some portion of it. Leadership also implies values. A leader must have values that are life-giving to society. It is the only kind of leadership we need. This then also implies values that are embedded in respect for others. So often we think of people skills or caring about people as being “warm and fuzzy.” I think a leader can be of varying ‘warmth and fuzziness,” but a leader has to respect others. You can’t lead without it. Otherwise we are back to manipulation. Respect means also that one can deal with diversity - a critical need for a leader in today’s world, probably always has been, although diversity may have been more subtle in the homogeneous societies of the past.
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