Chapter 1 of a volume on school leadership, this chapter looks at research findings concerning the characteristics of leaders. The author begins by looking at those characteristics resulting from accidents of birth or early environmental influences and concludes that leaders are usually more intelligent than nonleaders, not firstborn, used to making decisions from an early age, and from a higher socioeconomic group than followers. The next section focuses on leaders' traits and skills in the area of human relations. The research cited concludes that leaders are better than average at interacting with others, enjoy socializing, and are good talkers and listeners. The final section concerns character qualities of the effective school leader. This section suggests that successful principals and other educational administrators have some traits that distinguish them from those who are less successful. These characteristics are clear goals, enough security not to resist change, and ability to be "proactive"--to initiate or lead rather than passively react. Practical implications of these findings for the selection, evaluation, and training of educational leaders are included. The chapter is intended to be especially helpful to those who hire school administrators or plan their training programs. (Author/JM)