Being an effective meeting leader is less about asserting your position and more about fostering creativity, encouraging others to pitch ideas and then evaluating each suggestion. Of course, you still need to be assertive when it comes to keeping the meeting on track, finalizing decisions and assigning action items. If the thought of leading a meeting really gets the butterflies going, the best thing you can do is prepare yourself. One of the best ways to earn the respect of your group is to know what you're doing.
People respond better to relaxed, confident leaders.
Keeping this in mind, it's a good idea to brush up on your meeting skills. If things get really bad, professional facilitation may be the only option. If he is not learned, then he will not be on firm ground. He takes loyalty and good faith to be of primary importance, and has no friends who are not of equal caliber. When he makes a mistake, he doesn't hesitate to correct it.