Leadership has been described as “a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.

Leadership is "organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal". The leader may or may not have any formal authority. Students of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values,charisma, and intelligence, among others. Somebody whom people follow: somebody who guides or directs others.

The search for the characteristics or traits of leaders has been ongoing for centuries. History's greatest philosophical writings from Plato's Republic to Plutarch's Lives have explored the question "What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader?" Underlying this search was the early recognition of the importance of leadership and the assumption that leadership is rooted in the characteristics that certain individuals possess. This idea that leadership is based on individual attributes is known as the "trait theory of leadership".

Daniel Grayling "Dan" Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, whose music was inspired by sources as diverse as folk, pop, rock, classical, jazz, and bluegrass music. He is best known for his 1980 hit "Longer" and his 1981 hit "Leader of the Band".

Dan Fogelberg, the youngest of three sons, was born in Peoria, Illinois, the son of Margaret (née Irvine), a classically trained pianist, and Lawrence Peter Fogelberg, a high school band director, who spent most of his career at Peoria's Woodruff High School and Pekin High School. Dan Fogelberg's mother was a Scottish immigrant, and his father was of Swedish descent. His father would later be the inspiration for the song, "Leader of the Band". Using a Mel Bay course book, Dan taught himself to play a Hawaiian slide guitar that his grandfather gave to him; he also learned to play the piano. At age 14 he joined a band, The Clan, which covered The Beatles. His second band was another cover combo, The Coachmen, who in 1967 released two singles, written by Fogelberg, on Ledger Records: "Maybe Time Will Let Me Forget" and "Don't Want To Lose Her."

Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.

Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy (1986–94) and HBO's Western drama Deadwood (2004–06). McShane starred as King Silas Benjamin in NBC series Kings, Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda, and as Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

McShane was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, on 29 September 1942, the son of Irene (née Cowley) and Scottish footballer Harry McShane. He grew up in Urmston, Lancashire, and attended Stretford Grammar School.

In the United Kingdom, McShane's best known role may be that of antiques dealer Lovejoy in the BBC drama series of the same name. He also enjoyed fame in the United States as English cad Don Lockwood in the soap opera Dallas and as an English cockfighting aficionado in the mini-series Roots. Even before Lovejoy, McShane was a pin-up as a result of appearances in television series such as Wuthering Heights (1967, as Heathcliff), If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969 as Charlie), Jesus of Nazareth (1977, as Judas Iscariot), and Disraeli (1978) — as well as films like Sky West and Crooked (1965) and Battle of Britain (1969). In the United States, he is perhaps best known for the role of historical figure Al Swearengen in the HBO series Deadwood, for which he won the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama. He was also nominated for at the 2005 Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Simon O. Sinek (born October 9, 1973) is an author and best known for developing "The Golden Circle" and popularizing a concept of human motivation. He joined the RAND Corporation in 2010 as an adjunct staff member, where he advises on matters of military innovation and planning. His first TEDx Talk on "How Great Leaders Inspire Action" is the 19th most viewed video on TED.com. His book on the same subject, "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action," (2009) delves into a naturally occurring pattern, grounded in the biology of human decision-making, that explains why we are inspired by some people, leaders, messages and organizations over others.

He writes for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, FastCompany, CMO Magazine, NPR and BusinessWeek, and is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, BrandWeek, IncBizNet.

Sinek was born in Wimbledon, England; at a young age he moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, then to London, then to Hong Kong, before settling in New Jersey. He earned a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University; he attended City University in London with the intention of becoming a barrister, but left law school to go into advertising.