Leadership: Attitude defined, applied to life Published June 11, 2008 By Pam Cypher 90th Mission Support Group F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. -- Leadership: the office or position of a leader; guidance. Trying to define leadership is like trying to describe how a color smells. Ask 50 people to define leadership and you will get 50 different answers. However, leadership should include such qualities as selflessness, integrity and compassion. It's not a position held, it's a quality people look for and want to emulate. There is no magic formula for being or becoming a good leader. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Becoming a better leader is a lifelong quest with no end in sight. Being a leader means you have to be able to provide a direction without the help of a compass, providing stability when you don't have a clue, taking the heat for things you had nothing to do with but are ultimately responsible for. Leadership is the ability to take a beating from your boss without offering any excuses. Leadership is the ability to take ownership of an issue, no matter how unpopular or whether you agree with it or not. The one thing great leaders always remember is you can't manage people. You must lead people. It's about giving directions and getting results. To get good results, you must give good directions. A good leader will set a suspense for the expected outcome but will not tell people how to get there or how to do it. A great leader realizes it makes no difference what road you take, as long as you get there ... and while you're at it, have a little fun on the way.