An ERIC digest provides general information to help educators, students, and others evaluate their own capacities for leadership. Material is divided into six substantive sections. "What is leadership?" provides definitions of the concept, discusses differences between leadership and management and considers requisites for effective leadership. "How and why does one become a leader?" considers the notion that people are born leaders and have recognizable leadership qualities. "What separates the leaders from others?" considers the major characteristics of leaders, including that they are vision and goal centered, have drive and power to accomplish their mission, and have the ability to become totally involved with the process of accomplishing their mission. "What are some typical competency characteristics of leaders?" presents the results of an interview with 90 successful leaders. "Who are some present leaders in education: Do they have these competencies?" profiles four current educational leaders. A final section, "What skills will leaders need in the future?" describes future leadership skills as including the ability to focus on the present and future, to bridge the gap among different interest groups, and monitor and interpret information. A list of resources concludes the paper. (LP)