In a Personnel Conference from The Mission Exchange a few years ago, Steve Moore listed in a breakout session a number of the factors he looks for in emerging leaders. Listed on a scale from the more obscured and foundational to the more obvious and experienced:

• The reactive hypothetic. Marked by statements such as, “If I were in charge, I wouldn’t do it like that.”
• Subversives. See my post on The thorn in your side.
• Those who notice things others miss. I think servants and visionaries both have good eyes.
• The intuitive functional. They have some leadership ability but can’t fully articulate why they do what they do.
• Tentative operational. I’d say this is your classic reluctant leader: has some leadership competence but doesn’t have the confidence to label it “leadership.”
• Proactive operational. Willing to take on challenges others won’t.

There’s a lot of good stuff in this list. I’ll let it go without comment and then post some separate thoughts on the subject matter.