Everyone has the potential to be a leader but, not everyone is comfortable with leading or has the ambition / desire to be a leader.
As an army officer leading troops into battle, good leadership qualities are vital otherwise, how would you persuade a battalion of soldiers to follow you into the dangerous unknown? Obviously, it is not quite such a dramatic situation in an office environment but - you do need to inspire both loyalty and respect in those who work for you.
You must have an extensive knowledge of your chosen professional field as you will be the first port of call for junior members of your team who require clarification and guidance. You must be able to listen carefully to what you are being told by your staff and, when practicable, be in a position to implement any necessary changes that may be required in order to improve morale in the workplace.
You must lead by example. Arriving late for work and having a reputation as a "party animal" will make it nigh on impossible for you to discipline members of your team when they have issues with punctuality or work attendance. There is much to be said for the old adage, "Familiarity breeds contempt." Of course we all want to be liked, but, maintaining that invisible line between a boss and his or her subordinates will help to ensure that everyone is clear about their role making it easier for both parties in the event that any sensitive employment issues need to be raised. And, whilst we are on the subject of sensitivity - this is another quality that shouldn't be overlooked. Managing a team of vastly differing personalities can be extremely difficult. Invest time in getting to know your staff. This will mean that when or if they are struggling for either personal or professional reasons, you will be able to provide the necessary support to get them through a difficult period and back on track making a viable contribution to the workforce. There are so many different skills involved in being a good manager - just look back on what you have admired or hated from your managers in the past and this will provide an excellent perspective on how to work on becoming a respected and popular leader yourself.

Leadership goes well beyond the corporate office. Without realizing it, many of us have a natural ability to lead and take on those roles. We take charge in our families, in community groups, at our child’s school programs and faith-based organizations, and in many other situations, too. When you have the ability to persuade people to consider your ideas, act on your advice, or help them solve their problems, you are helping to lead them to an end result, no matter how small or great the impact. Numerous people are leading nobody in spite of their desire to lead, and they are following nobody precisely because of their desire to lead.

Yes and no.

There are three reasons one can back this up with. These three reasons can be complemented or supplemented by other reasons and rationale but nevertheless stay at the core of the idea of leadership. Leading is a process that involves what can be called in a very plebeian way- "The Heart and Head Connection". Leadership requires a discrete set of skills that cannot be drafted into one commandment for all individuals. Expanding more on the Heart and Head Connection- Leadership in most of its definition and manifestation is a process of making decisions that drive a team forward. In order to accomplish this, a leader must have the information, knowledge and skills (head) to make efficient decisions and have a great rapport and relationship with the team to execute it. This doesn't necessarily have to be from a place where a leader makes all decisions and makes the team follow instructions but rather from a place where a leader takes into consideration the inputs, ideas and concerns of the entire team while arriving at a thought- through, efficient decision so that the entire team believes in the decision and executes it. This is the Head of Heart breakeven that defines leadership in a very generic yet globally applicable manner.

Now, the three important reasons that drive whether anyone can be a leader are:

1. Can this person establish a Head and Heart Breakeven?
2. Does this person hold all the necessary information, skills, knowledge and emotional intelligence to be a leader?
3. Despite all these, does this person consider oneself a leader or wants to be one?

After all, everyone doesn't have to want to be leaders.

Yes, everyone can be a leader if they desired to be.

Leadership is not constricted to managerial or board positions. A leader is not a supervisor. In fact, many a times people in managerial positions have abandoned their posts to focus on becoming better leaders. If anyone can influence someone for the better, say by changing their mindset or improving their output then that person is a leader.

Other activities that demonstrate leadership qualities include doing voluntary work, being the team captain, implementing new ideas, influencing others to pursue their dreams, organizing a trip or connecting people.

These are simple activities that can reveal the leadership in someone, however, because we're not exposed to the same conditions everyday, the leadership skills might be surpressed and go unnoticed. With the rightexposure, training and mentorship plus a willingliness to learn anyone can be a leader. Like the popular saying goes, leaders are made not born.

I think everyone can be a leader but for some it will be something natural while for others it isn’t, also just because everyone can be a leader, not everyone should be a leader. To be a leader a person needs certain skills, the person can simply have those skills inherently or a person can learn those skills that is why it is natural for some and not for others. But having the right skills just means the person can be a leader, it doesn’t mean the person should be a leader, if the person doesn’t respect or care for the followers then the person shouldn’t be a leader.

Not everyone can be a leader. Respectively, everyone can become a leader, but not everyone is good. It is essential for leadership to have certain prerequisites - among other things to be an extrovert type, to be eloquent, convincing, able to listen and, above all, to make quick and effective choices. I know many people who could not be the leaders in the companies. They are unable to communicate and formulate their opinion and prefer to wait for the opinion of the others. Some would be unlucky leaders, typically introverted individuals who do not like joining the team. In my opinion, the leader should certainly primarily like to work with people and communicate well – I am not able to imagine the position of the leader without these properties.

The truth is that sometimes life forces us to become leaders - in our family, for example. But even this may not be natural to us, and there is often a very different approach between the parents, the children both perceive very differently. They always choose one of them as a leader - as a leader, whose word is always true. Maybe it's a silly comparison, but just as always a newly arrived dog to a family chooses his master, hence the leader. Intuitively they can sense who is the one who can lead the group. Likewise, people will sense who has such a great charisma and be a leader. If anyone who does not have enough self-confidence or fervor for the thing becomes a leader, people will not follow him. Apparently, therefore, the right leader can not become anyone who thinks of it.