There are a myriad of qualities that shape leadership. People may never agree on whether leadership arises from a set of innate characteristics (“leaders are born”) or from observable actions (“leaders are created”). While it would be almost impossible to provide a definitive and all-encompassing definition of leadership. However, some basic leadership qualities seem almost universal, regardless of the leader or the type of followers they lead: good communication skills, the ability to deal constructively with a variety of personalities, and mental strength to take responsibility and resist criticism. Some personality traits such as sense of humor, reliability and interpersonal skills are also required. I believe that leader traits and skills common to any leadership model are the product of one of three broad knowledge bases: knowledge of followers, knowledge of followers' goals, and, perhaps most importantly, knowledge of the leader by of the leader. himself. A leader must know who he is leading. A leader will have difficulty getting a team to work together without first learning to work with each person individually. In every team, all followers have different personality traits, work skills, and opinions that they bring to the table. While it is each team member's responsibility to contribute to the team's common goals, it is the leader's job to evaluate each member's strengths and weaknesses to see how they would best contribute to the goals at hand. An effective team leader will take time to get to know each individual and work to maximize each member's contribution to the team. Being an active contributor to the group's goals is all...half of the paper...using those skills. However, no one can become a perfect leader outright. Leadership takes time, dedication and a lot of detailed knowledge about yourself, your followers, your organization and the society we live in, to become a respectable leader. Bottom line, leaders need to know their team, their goals, and themselves. A leader needs to know the individuals within a group before he or she can know what the group can accomplish. There must be a desire to lead but at the same time to teach with patience. A leader cannot let his or her own desire to lead overshadow the goals of the group as a whole. An effective team leader must be able to admit their weaknesses and be willing to constantly improve. Leadership is essential in a group so that the leader and his followers can push the group further in achieving and obtaining its goals.