Dragon got me to thinkin about the old days.  In my travels I encountered basically 2 types of commanding officers.  Ones that went to college then officer school and became "leaders" (not that I ever took a 2nd or 1st LT seriously), and then the "mustangers", guys that had hit SGT and then went to school to become an officer.   I used to get into some serious arguments with the first type I mentioned.

"I want you to set your Dragon team in that gully and engage tanks as they come over the hill." Me says " Yea right buddy, I'm not fond of having my legs blown off when I launch this shoulder fired missile." Officer-" You gettin smart with me?" Me-" I sure as hell couldnt get any stupider." I used to get in a lot of trouble for my mouth. I lacked tact.

 My favorite memory was of our grungy old 1st Sgt.  I was in the company office one day and overheard a 1st LT trying to tell ol 1st SGT Stebbins how to do his job.  1st SGT said "Boy, when you get old enough to climb your way up these rockers (point's to collar), come back and see me.  Till then get the hell out of my face."  And down the hall was our full bird laughing so hard I thought he would piss himself.

[effin double posted; ignore this]

Let me break it down USMC style:

JJ DID TIE BUCKLE

JUSTICE, JUDGMENT, DEPENDABILITY, INITIATIVE, DECISIVENESS, TACT, INTEGRITY, ENTHUSIASM, BEARING, UNSELFISHNESS, COURAGE, KNOWLEDGE, LOYALTY, ENDURANCE..

My list- What Zoo and Dufe said.

Lunch break!  Here's what I think makes a good leader (along with anecdotes from my experience leading raids the past two years):

1)  Objectivity - to be able to step back and assess a situation without one's personal agenda or emotions sway their decisions.  I'm guilty of not always being objective, but I do my best to make sure that any decisions I come to, will ultimately result in a better, more effective and efficient raid.

2)  (again) Decisiveness - being able to come to a conclusion, for better or for worse.  Simply being able to make a decision and give direction to the group is important, as many others have said better than I have.

3)  Quick-thinking - to be able to fix a bad situation and/or come up with alternative means to the desired solution.  I remember getting a BT raid off the ground by having alt tanks come in, existing tanks respec to dps/healing specs, and bringing in some bizarre class balances - and it worked fairly well, clearing up to and through ROS.

4)  Being firm but gentle.  I don't mean to imply inflexibility - a leader should always be flexible.  However, they are ultimately the "leader" and as such, they should have a strong grasp of what the desired outcome of a situation is.  That said, they shouldn't render themselves unapproachable either, and while being firm with their decisions they also have to be understanding.

5)  Charisma.  Let's face it, the most popular presidents we've had in the states (Clinton, Kennedy, Reagan, etc) have all been very charismatic and charming people, while the least popular (Bush Jr., Nixon) have been ... well, less than charming.  I'm not getting into personal politics here, but suffice to say having a level of charisma certainly helps you to lead.

I know I have more, but that's all I can fit in for my lunch break.

At any rate, I always do my best whenever I end up having to lead a group, be it through BT, MH, TK, or even just a heroic instance.

I'll have to add my "how-to" guide on how to make a successful group - I know lots of people that bellyache because they "can't make a group for a heroic", but these same people that bellyache often end up in the same groups I organize.  One part of it is certainly the fact that I'm a guild officer, but that can't be the only reason that I get groups made.

If Hitler hadn't been a genocidal, massmurdering fuckhead, he'd have been considered one of the greatest leaders in history.

That said ...

I'll post up my opinions on what makes a great leader later, when I'm not busy at work!

Decisiveness in the face of uncertainty.

I feel the best leaders have merely been (wo)men willing to stand up and do what needed to get done despite what others did or did not think.  If your confidence is great enough in your goals, others WILL help you achieve them.

Adolf Hitler is a perfect example of a 'great leader'.  Despite being one of the most evil men of the previous century (*cough*Stalin*cough*), Hitler was the greatest leader mankind has seen in many years.

He was:

• Decisive - when the time came to take action
• sympathetic - to the concerns and views of his people
• strong - Never underestimate the respect and power gained through fear
• Filled With Conviction - Despite his many faults, Adolf Hitler was a man of conviction.  So strong was his conviction that he was able to use it to convince millions of others of his beliefs.  The Jewish people didn't at first go calmly into slavery,death,etc because they were afraid.  Many of them were truly convinced of the evil of 'their ways' and the wrongs ingrained in their blood.   Despite the fact that Hitler's mother was half Jewish herself.

Keep in mind, I'm not a skinhead, nor am I a neo-nazi.  However, that does not lessen the respect I have for Hitler's abilities as a leader.  It's just too bad he wasn't accidentally dropped on his head at birth........from the empire state building.

Having a plan for the future (more than a 4 year plan btw) of whatever group/organization that is being led

The ability to listen to imput

Making decisions based on the greater good

Yes, I like to heal. No, I've never been shadow.

To be more helpful, here's some things that I think are usually good traits:

• A good knowledge/understanding of those you're leading
• A broad understanding of the task at hand, not necessarily a deep one
• Decisiveness
• Being able to listen and give appropriate consideration to other people's ideas
• Knowing how to follow
• Good organizational skills
• Respectability

For me this depends 100% on who/what they're leading.