Of all the human qualities, leadership is one of the most ambivalent and elusive, as it involves a large amount of other skills. In general terms, being a leader means to posses those inner or outer conditions that make you a person in charge of other people and, at the same time, responsible for their well being. Usually, we connect leadership with organized groups, but often we realize that we need leaders in most aspects of our lives. But, do we know who our real leaders are? And do they correspond to our needs? Is their existence in our lives vital to us or is just o matter of social scale?
These are questions that make you wonder, aren't they? The first thing about leaders is their status. There are "given" leaders, not necessary the best ones, but they have their position that cannot be shaken (such as kings or monarchs in general). Other leaders are those whom we choose for certain qualities that they posses and thanks to some our hopes we are assured they'll fulfill. Probably the most largely met are those who become leaders by their own means; they succeed into imposing themselves as persons to be followed, in different areas of interest. Is not as much a matter of advancing on a social scale, as it is one of strong character and devotion to a goal.
We then come to a point where other questions are aroused: What makes such an effective leader? Can each of us become a leader or do we need special qualities for that? Is there such a person who can be called "a perfect leader"?
You can easily see that leadership is a matter of large interest and that to give an answer to all those questions is impossible as long as human nature is constantly changing perspectives on life and its values. Still, if we were to analyze things from a theoretical point of view, we might sum up some of the main characteristics of an effective leader.
First of all, the main quality, if we might call it so, is intelligence, his or her