A bad team with a good leader may be productive sometimes, but a good team with a bad leader is always a disaster. The first and most important trait of a leader is a willingness to assume responsibility and be accountable, not only for one's own performance, but also for the performance of the team. A leader is usually a jack-of-all-trades, but master of none. He, however, creates an environment that encourages excellence in performance.

A good leader must have the capability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each and every member of the team. He should try to enhance the strengths and mend the weaknesses of individuals to the extent possible, and use the combined strength of the team by way of strategic planning to ultimately reach the goal.

The excellence of a leader should be judged not by his own performance, but by the collective performance of the individual members of a team functioning as a cohesive unit to achieve the desired objective. He needs to be a good planner, coordinator and motivator with the ability to take decisions through a consultative process. He also has to be an excellent motivator. Motivation, not by way of sermonising from a pulpit, but from his own commitment, conviction and capability. He has to motivate by his own standard of performance.

Ultimately, it's the completion factor that counts in the long run. A leader might test somebody's commitment by putting him or her on a task force. He would find a problem that needs solving and assemble a group of people whose normal responsibilities don't include tackling that problem. The person who grabs hold of the problem and won't let go, like a dog with a bone, has leadership potential. This quality is critical in leaders, for there will be times when nothing but one's iron will says, "keep going".