Caveat: Although the various leadership attributes I am addressing appear here in a linear manner, no relative importance is intended by the order in which they are presented.

Resourceful – ingenious, imaginative, inventive, creative, quick-witted, clever, bright, sharp, talented, gifted, able, capable, spirited, enthusiastic, ambitious, vigorous. OED

An effective leader needs to be resourceful. In an ideal world, a leader would know everything about everything, have all the tools accessible, and have the skills to manipulate those tools. Obviously, we don’t live in an ideal world, and it is unlikely to find such a leader, so our leaders need to surround themselves with resourceful people who can deal with isolated issues as they arise.

If a rocket ship is needed to explore Mars, then a leader needs to find someone who can build it. If the faucet is leaking, a leader needs to find someone to fix it. If the basketball team is losing all its games, a leader needs to find ways to improve the function of the team. On a national level, because of the large number of people involved, the infinitely possible array of situations that can evolve requires even more resourcefulness and no lines can be drawn that prevent the welfare of all the people from being addressed. And on a global level, the leaders have an even greater need to use every creative resource at their disposal to ensure that not only the people flourish and survive, but that the plants and animals that sustain the planet are left intact.