I love this post, the thread of character, courage and "connection" through history.  I have a blog post about Character and Courage at Work at my company website.  Don I agree with you and the others about the paralyzing fear that grips most of our potential leaders.  I believe a large part of it is ego.  To develop power and influence these days it often requires a track record of visible results and many credentials in one's field.  The people who seek power usually do so as an ego-building or even kingdom-building process.  The over-inflated egos are like helium balloons on the verge of popping...the bigger they get the less they try to stray from the vertical path in order to avoid running into any sharp corners.  Power-mongers are not leaders...I like to think of them as sheep in wolves clothing.

True leaders have humility and embrace the idea that others, no matter how big or small their balloon is, may have a valid perspective.  True leaders seek out the perspectives of others, in particular opposing perspectives, to help make their positions even stronger.  It also has the benefit of making their connections with others stronger.  And when they have exercised due diligence and mindfulness in crafting their position, they will stand up for what they believe with conviction.

These days too many potential leaders don't open themselves up to opposing opinions, and don't stand up for their own positions, for fear that they will lose the small sphere of influence that they do have...which eventually has the inverse effect as their world continually changes around them.