There are many lists of leadership attributes. Here are two, one from the academic world and one from the corporate world.
Warren Bennis (1982), based on his research and a long career as a student of leadership, defined five key traits of successful chief executives: vision of a desired future state; communication and alignment (communicating the vision to build support for it); persistence, consistency, focus so that the vision is actually realized even in the face of adversity; empowering others to tap into the energies and talents necessary to achieve the desired results; and organizational learning in the service of tracking progress and, if necessary, revamping the organization itself.
The following was developed internally by a company as a tool for evaluating individual managers. First is a list of things that an effective manager must do: believe in and live the corporate values (there is a list of five values); develop and communicate a rallying vision; be a strategic thinker; be a risk-taker; have a proven track record; be a catalyst for change; have earned the trust of the organization; be a listener and an enabler; develop good strong subordinates for succession; and be an optimist and have a sense of humor.
In addition to the “musts,” this company defined a supplementary set of desirable characteristics, including: a variety of work experiences; an international orientation; financial expertise; understanding of and ability to deploy technology; ability to deal with ambiguity; skill at alliance management (for example, joint ventures); a balanced, healthy lifestyle; and active roles outside the company.