Leaders isolate themselves or stay involved in everything, and the rest of us gossip about the fact they really don't know it all. Think of the Elan that is released when we stop buying into the fiction of perfection. We can be ourselves. We can learn, take risks and fail, and openly and consciously take our learning's into the future. The energy explosion is profound.
Courage is certainly a theme.
For me, my life pattern and personal experience of Elan has taken at least three forms. One Elan expression I am very proud of is that I take a stand. I do not do this without thought. I try not to do this in ways that deny other's right to express. But, I do it on principal, whatever the personal consequences, and often sacrificing my very ingrained need to be liked.