Dwight D. Eisenhower said leadership is ultimately you trying to get your mandate and desires done in your time table and in your way, while the one who is doing it for you is doing so because he wants to do it. Leadership then, becomes a process of motivating, inspiring and leading somebody while getting that person to express him or herself in the process.

Since history is replete with examples of leadership being used for noble OR nefarious purposes, what is the key difference between good leadership and bad?

The key difference is this: Good leadership does not violate the individual or lead them contrary to the beneficial and/or transcendent purpose which they desire.

Good leadership is a paradoxical blend between: a) personal humility and b) a noble, visionary driven will. Good leadership then, has to start in the area of the leader’s being. You have to BE a good leader in order to DO good leadership.

How would your followers rate you on these two criteria? What do you need to start doing, do more of, or change in order to become more of the leader you desire and your followers need you to become?

Content that helped bring these thoughts to mind and are worthy of your time and a look:
Ravi Zacharias (podcast: Leader Seminar Workshop: part 1 of 3)
Simon Sinek (book: Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams pull together and Others Don’t)