The Discovery of True Leadership in all of us

It is difficult to imagine what exactly leadership is, where it comes from, how it is used, and what exactly makes a good leader. I believe leadership is something which can be found in all of us but is only discovered at certain points in our lives, after having certain experiences. Some people may never uncover leadership within them, while others discover it very early, making them appear to be natural born leaders. I also believe that leadership is something which belongs to one person or a small group of people by definition. My view of leadership is that a person or a group must have some power over other people in order to lead them or be in control. This does not mean they have total control because a system of checks and balances can be used like in our government. I believe this, contrary to the belief that leadership comes from simply participating and taking action, because this is more like cooperation and collaboration, not true leadership. In order for a person to be a leader, they must assert themselves in some way. Finally, what makes a good leader is not just this first step of having some power over the group, but the will to listen to others and value their opinions regardless of the fact that others don’t have the same amount of power that they have.
Leadership is often thought of as something which people are born with, some kind of a gift that they were given and are expected to use in society while it is the job of everyone else to stand behind them. Still, others believe that leadership is something that can be taught through lessons or possibly it is something that every member of a group can posess. I believe leadership is something that is discovered but cannot be taught. I don’t believe people are born leaders, though I also don’t believe that leadership can be learned in class or practiced. Leadership takes boldness, bravery, respect and intelligence. No one person is born with these qualities, nor can they be taught to obtain them, though through life experiences which may have nothing to do with leading a group, they may hope to gain some of them. Though some people have a natural ability to draw followers to them, organize groups and make decisions for them, this does not make them a leader. A leader must have some direction and some foundation to rely on and this only comes from careful observations of other leaders and a reasonable idea of what decisions may work and which ones won’t which only comes from experience.
I do not believe that an entire group of people can truly be leaders because separation from the group and a certain amount of executive power is in the definition of a leader. It is possible for all members of a group to participate and contribute to group decisions in an orderly, democratic fashion, but it is impossible for a group made up of so-called “leaders” to function without mishaps. Again, leadership is something which separates people from the group because without some separation, it is impossible for a person to lead other people; what was once leadership becomes cooperation. It is possible to view these ideas of cooperation and leadership as being the same thing, though I believe they are very different, and leadership is a position that belongs exclusively to one person or a small group of people inside the large group. Still, simply because a person might have power over a group, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are a good, respectable leader.
One of the most important qualities of leadership is not only power, but also respect for the group and understanding for their needs. Leadership involves making assertive decisions that don’t only benefit that one person or small group, but rather decisions which will benefit the entire group and avoid conflict between people. Leadership does involve great amounts of power, but a good leader should always remain humble about the power they are given and keep in mind that in the end, all people are equal regardless of the fact that some have more executive power than others do, and everyone’s opinions must be valued. History proves that people prefer this democratic form of government as opposed to monarchies, oligarchies or other corrupt forms of leadership. Sharing power is difficult to do because holding power and keeping it is in our nature, since it helps us to survive. Still, leadership is a position which requires integrity and plenty of moral guidance.