He had a vision of how the nation could become great and powerful. Moses was a great leader because he had a vision of how life could be better beyond slavery. He had a vision of what could happen in the Promised Land, and he held the people together. Great leaders have that vision, that sense of here is what can happen and here is how we're going to get there, and the people follow because the vision has been painted in such a way that they begin to see it. So much of what passes for leadership today is the promise of bringing a little more comfort to people who are already enormously comfortable.
Great leadership challenges followers to be more than they have ever been before.
Abraham Lincoln went with a friend to church one Sunday evening to hear a famous preacher. Afterwards, the friend commented on the minister's fine sermon. The man did not challenge us to do anything great. Ordinary leadership settles for the exchange of a vote for promises about what it can do for us. Great leadership is not exchange, but transformation.