Leaders just have to be committed
I was reading Seth Goodin's book, Tribe this weekend; this is what he had to say about people who make no excuses, who assume responsibility and who are committed to a vision:
"Leaders challenge the status quo
Leaders have an extraordinary amount of curiosity about the world they are trying to change
Leaders use charisma to attract and motivate followers
Leaders communicate their vision for the future
Leaders commit to a vision and make their decisions based on that commitment
Leaders connect their followers to one another
If you consider all the leaders in your organisation or community, you'll see everyone of them uses some combination of these elements . You don't have to be in charge or powerful or connected to be a leader. You do have to be committed."
http://www.mangomediacaribbean.com/blog/trackback.cfm?A65A584D-3048-2D03-0A350A20E43F5535
Judette Coward Puglisi (MSc, Dip IR, BA), Managing Director. Find out more 
I'll agree that you don't have to be in charge, but in this part of the world, leaders are threatened by any change to the status quo. So yes, it's possible. It's never easy, though.
In the book Tribe the question of popularity is put to the test though. The writer argues that your vision can be known to ten or twenty thousand, people in your community or around the world but most often, it can be the people you work for or those who work for you. That can be a small number and not so much a popularity contest as it is a quest to connect and change the ways things are done
In think good leaders should be curious about changes in status quo because they are useful indicators that something is either not working or not working. Analysis and action is required if a leader wants to remain authentic
follow. I wonder how Seth Godin would respont to that concept? How would
you???