What Makes A Leader A True Leader?

A person may consider himself a leader if he has the ability to draw a crowd and lead them. Logical enough: a leader is one who leads. But I believe there is more to it than just being able to consider yourself a ringleader conducting the clowns.

A true leader does not look out for number one alone. Casualties (figurative or not) are looked upon with sadness through the eyes of a true leader. "As long as it gets me where I want to go," is a thought that never enters his brain. "How can I defeat OUR enemies with the smallest number of my people losing the ultimate battle," is.

Charisma is a must for a follower to climb to the top, without a doubt. How this trait is used is what is important. Charisma is "a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/charisma). Hitler had charisma and he was a "great leader," nearly leading his Nazis to victory. But his gift was abused. He was the one with the initial thought of, "I'm better than them," and through strongarming (muscling his "virtues" into others) and brainwashing, eventually gained a following.

A true leader is one who finds others who shares his beliefs, virtues, values, ideals, etc. These others who "follow" his way of thinking may wish to gain power in a society, one of many motives that would require a leader/group. If his "people" wish to omit the quotations, then he will have their full support from the start, another sign of a true leader (or a completely evil genius, the difference must be determined without bias).

Julius Caesar is seen as both. He was a brilliant general and a sufficient leader (at least) who led Rome to great power. Sounds like a true leader. The other side to that though is the fact that to get to where he was/Rome where he led it, he killed several million people, "not much better than Hitler."

What Makes A Leader A True Leader is how people view him, how his motives and accomplishments (with ethics (or something else completely unbiased, since ethics are not universal) as the trays) weigh out.