Leaders help people understand and make sense of their circumstances.
They are successful to the degree that people trust their judgment and have confidence in the accuracy and integrity with which they define reality. As the current political scene shows all too well, a single event or set of circumstances can be interpreted differently depending on the perspective of the interpreter. Different presuppositions and agendas lead to different conclusions and explanations. Different definitions of sociopolitical reality lead to multiple political parties. Different definitions of metaphysical reality produce a variety of religions.