What is moral leadership?

My friend Phillip has, like so many of us, been recently searching for moral guidance and moral leadership. Not too long after the election, he sent an email around to a bunch of different people, asking them to name a contemporary moral leader. He discusses some of the responses he got on his blog. I'm especially intrigued by his very simple point about the values our children pick up from us: they learn quickly to value what we do, at least early on. To me, as a parent, this is a daily reminder that I am in fact a moral leader, whether I want to be or not. Jamie picks up most closely on what Ellen and I put out there, and reflects it back to us and to others.

This resonates in a way with how I have come to terms with the question of "how can one person change the world?" My answer has long been, by living the moral life as you see it, and hoping others emulate you, that they are convinced by your example. This philosophical bent has very recently intersected with my more psychological struggle to let go of trying to control outcomes (in human interactions) and to work on simply being more authentic -- i.e., learning how the outcome can be less important than my honesty (emotional, intellectual, etc.) in the interaction.

Is the essence of being a moral leader just being? Or at least, just being in a very conscious way? I think it might be the essence of being moral, but the leadership part might require a bit more. To be continued...