Leaders

You are either a leader or a follower. There are people who seem to be the leader of the leaders. That class president and number one jock that shows you up at everything, who the entire school loves. But out of all the class presidents only a few go on to be real leaders. It is a very special person who can convince people to follow them. One thing I think pretty much everyone can agree on is they have to be fair and just, another one that comes to mind, is kindness. Confidence, self awareness, adaptability, empathy, bravery, honor, and intelligence seem to be some of the main ones as well. What other qualities would you expect of your leader?
                                                     
I would say that these qualities are expected in most leaders, past and present. Would you agree? Beowulf is described as a good leader. He seems to be fair and just from what we are given and he doesn’t show any blatant cruelty. The way he jumps into situations shows that he can adapt to different situations and that he is very confident in himself and he displays a kind of intelligence. He shows his honor when he tries to make his fights fair.

       Empathy, bravery, and self awareness seem to be harder to see in Beowulf. Though he is fair, he doesn’t seem to be empathetic. I see this mostly when he faces Grendal as well as when he marches out to fight the dragon. Beowulf seems to be constructed to be the poster child of bravery but is he
                                                        
actually brave? He doesn't overcome anything. He doesn’t seem to be afraid at all. So is he really brave? Self awareness seems to be the one that ends up being his downfall. He can not see how much his own pride is affecting him, especially when it is the cause of his death when he goes up against the dragon.
                  Can Beowulf really be seen as a “good leader” despite his flaws?