“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way,” as said by John C. Maxwell. This reminds people about what it takes to be a great leader and has raised many controversies as to what a great leader is. Qualities like decisiveness, confidence, focus, and consistency are necessary to make a leader. Virtue, which is a behavior showing high moral standards , is not one of the necessary qualities. By analyzing literature and history, a person can still be a good and effective leader without virtue because they are consistent, credible, and have a vision of their goals. Abigail Williams, a character from The Crucible, was not virtuous but was a great leader to many of the girls in Salem. Abigail had an affair with a married …show more content…
She tells the girls her plan, and because she gives them a clear vision, they listen to her and follow her lead.Not to mention, when all the other girls were panicking about Mary Warren telling the truth, Abigail showed how powerful she really was by manipulating Mary into coming back to her side when she realized that Abigail was the more credible source (The Crucible, Act II.198). Abigail was consistent throughout the whole story and did not break her tale not even once which is why she got away with her lies until she left to go to another town before anyone even suspected her. Even though she was unvirtuous, she exemplified the characteristics of a great …show more content…
John Smith lead the settlers for years which caused the town to thrive. When he left, Jamestown fell into greed, chaos, and starvation. By Smith “staying calm and confident” throughout his lead there, all of the people stayed the same,calm and confident (Prive). He pushed all of the people of every social class to work hard. He took charge after mutiny broke out because he knew that if he did not they would not have survived. So he gave orders and people listened because he was credible and reliable. Even when the two colonists died on the expedition he lead, he did not let that stop him, because his fate of being a leader was