Ah, the crap which MAACS inspires us to write: prose

A Natural Leader

What makes a leader? Every man gives allegiance to someone else, follows the path set by another. what is it in a leader that compels others to trail after them? A study of the famous Harry Potter will show what leaders are, and why people follow them.

The thing that stands out the most about a leader is the people that follow him. No leader can choose his entire following; but he can choose who he surrounds himself with. Harry POtter makes wise decisions about this from the start. Left alone by his guardians, he stays alone until Ron Weasley befriends him on the Hogwarts train. When he arrives, he is confronted by the words of a conceited Draco Malfoy. "You don't want to get caught making friends with the wrong sort Potter. I can help you there."

Harry has a choice to make. Ally himself with the know-it-all picture of arrogance, or stick by the one person whome he knows: Ron, an obviously poor and humble (but authentic) friend. Harry, without taking the time to weigh the multiple long-term futures his choice has, rejects Malfoy's hand and remains with Ron.

This lays the ground for one of the most important traits in a leader's relationship with his followers: loyalty. A good leader gets recognized because of the fierce loyalty of his followers. But it must go both ways; a leader must also be loyal to his followers.

One of the most climactic scenes in Harry's life is his adventure in the Department of Mysteries. He and his followers are confronted by several powerful Death Eaters. As they split up to excape, Harry's personal group falls to three. One of them is attacked by surprise, and falls. the other Death Eaters rush to the scene, and Harry's situation seems hopeless. He can flee and leave his friend, or he can stay and fight for her. HIs loyalty to his followers leaves him no alternative, and he stands by her body until help arrives.

This ties into trust, Harry's last leadership characteristic. He was lured to the Department of Mysteries only because his enemies trusted that he would react in a certain way. He was able to make it to the Department of Mysteries only because he had a trust with his followers to help him. And his followers only went with him because they trusted his ability to lead them through it all.

Leaders can be defined by many more characteristics and traits than these. But if a man surrounds himself with the wrong sort, if he is unloyal, and if he has no trust or if no one trusts him, then he can not be a leader.


As I type this, I notice many many errors and things that could have been much better; but being as how I'm showing crap written for MAACS, you get to read exactly what the judges will read :)