Effective leaders are such people, whom it is almost impossible to replace. In order to lead their company/group to success, they have to possess different characteristics and profound knowledge not only in their field of competence, but also in psychology, management and other spheres.
First of all, leader has to know what his mission is. When he starts some initiative, he has to understand what results he wants to achieve. He has to know how to define goals, and, what is more important, how to achieve them. It is necessary to take into account any possible outcome of actions and find the ways of solving any arising problems.
Second, an effective leader has to be worthy of respect. All his workers and colleagues should hold him in esteem, but not due to fear, but due to the way he manifests himself as organizer and a person. Leader has to respect his workers as well, as he won’t be able to manage people whom he considers to be not competent enough. In fact, there is simply no use in even trying to do it. That is why it is important for a leader to be able to choose his staff wisely and determine if a person will suit his team and in what way he/she will help his company flourish.
Third, he has to be sure of his success. The leader who is always grumbling and is not satisfied with everything will not achieve any goals. He has to be sure that he can cope with anything and that eventually his company will be the most prosperous one. And he has to be able to infect his people with the same idea.
On balance, it is clear that being a leader is a hard and responsible task and there are not so many people who are able to do it. Still, I am sure that if a person has an ambition to become a leader, he will find a way to develop the necessary traits and will surely succeed.