Individuals with ample leadership qualities and skills do not necessarily become effective leaders, often because of cultural or timing factors. The genius of leadership sometimes comes too early or too late, and an effective person in one setting can be a failure in another. We know, however, that leadership needs in complex organizations and societies have to be viewed as an engagement between partners and collaborators. All of us are followers and, in a sense, all of us can lead. Followers, much more than is appreciated, often have considerable influence on their leaders.
Leaders come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, and with varying dispositions.
Some talk a lot and are center stage, like Mario Cuomo and Mikhail Gorbachev. Others are more reflective and work behind the scenes, such as Jean Monnet and James Baker. Certain writers, like Harriet Beecher Stowe or Rachel Carson, have helped to launch movements. Some are colorless while others are charismatic. Some lead from within, like Abraham Lincoln and Florence Nightingale, while others, such as Susan Anthony and Martin Luther King, Jr., organize grassroots movements to bring pressure on the power holders.