What is a leader?

I have been thinking about this question more and more the last few weeks. I'm sure if I asked a group of people (separately) they would all have their own answers and I wonder that answer might change or grow if those same people were brought together and asked to answer as a group, What is a leader?

When you think of the term leader, it may often be defined along the lines of "a person that leads, guides, or inspires..." or "a person with influence or power (i.e. political)" but is that accurate? A leader is not always at the front of a group, isn't always the oldest or most experienced, and definitely isn't always the one in charge.

A leader can come from any walk of life, hold any job title, and lead in a number of ways. There is no precise definition of leader that includes the exact attributes and qualities that one must possess in order to "qualify".

Each and every day we have the opportunity to be a leader, to ourselves and others in the choices we make, the actions we take, and the words we use or don't use.

There are a number of people here at the university that many see as leaders and in my opinion none of them fit in the same "mold".  A leader can come in many forms.

When you think of a "leader" you may think of "chief, captain, boss, director, commander, superior, and other similar terms" but do you also think of "good listener, supportive, innovative, extroverted, social,  engaging, helpful, inspiring, effective speaker, etc..."?

What do you expect from a leader? Should a leader only lead but not follow? Is is possible to lead and follow? Is there one type of leader that is better than another? Is it possibly to follow two leaders with different ways of leading?

I am learning that I definitely have my own preferences and I'm beginning to narrow down my list of leadership attributes to aspire to and others to avoid. In this type of environment it is impossible to assume that there will only be one leader or one type of leader.

I aspire to be:

Level-headed to combat the day to day stresses that arise
Educated and ready to learn everyday
Alert to the needs, concerns, and suggestions of other
Determined to perform my job diligently and to the best of my ability
Enthusiastic of the progress that has been made and that I contribute to
Ready to take on the next challenge to achieve my goals