Leadership - Elie Weinstein

Alexander the Great, one of the greatest leaders in history once said, “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” Therefore, the success and advancement of all aspects of a nation or civilization are dependent on the strength of its leader.
The idea of leadership in the past century has evolved dramatically. Our world has shifted from a system of royalty, monarchies, and absolute rule to democracy, communism, and constitutional monarchies (which are basically democracies). This shift has positively affected our political systems and society because when strict monarchies still ruled the world, most rulers of dynasties or kingdoms would either resign or be assassinated due to the poverty and unhappiness created by being strictly ruled, followed by chaos.
The main attributes a great leader should have are as follows; intelligence, cooperation, kindness, persuasiveness, good speaking abilities, courageous, trustworthy, somewhat “transparent,” previous leadership experience, impartiality, and good social skills.
Some of the greatest leaders in history had these characteristics, yet lacked other essential aspects of leadership. Fidel Castro for example rose to power simply through violence and speeches, yet most of the world hates him due to his unwillingness to listen to his people, and because the communist system he forced on Cuba has failed to help its citizens.
Leadership plays an immense role in solving world issues; solving problems that impact us all can only be resolved through the combined efforts of nations and their leaders. Right now for example, the U.S. is working closely with the four other Security Council members and Germany to stop Iran from destroying itself and the world with its nuclear enrichment program, through sanctions. The U.N. Nations has played an important role in this issue, mainly because of the cooperation of its delegates. It is obvious that often times the U.N. does not carry out its duties properly or that nations do not realize the passed resolutions, but the U.N. and its member States will succeed in working together toward common goals in times of danger or when the issue at hand poses an extreme threat. The current issue of Iran is a perfect example because the current nuclear “energy” program run by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who denies possession of nuclear arms, does not allow the IAEA to inspect its nuclear “energy” facilities, supports terrorist organizations, and calls for the destruction of Israel and America is suspected to possess and develop nuclear arms, which would pose a threat to all of us. In times like these, we should all thank G-d that the U.N. Or at least some sort of multilateral peace-keeping force exists.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/mao_zedong.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nixon_richard.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/mandela_nelson.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/castro_fidel.shtml