Leadership and sales are associated with having people follow you. The difference with leadership is having people follow you where they wouldn't normally go - possibly in a direction that they think is dangerous. Great leaders have followers that do great things and become heroes who wouldn't normally be. But the leader's direction has to be virtuous. Value / judgement / ethics all come into play when deciding if this is a good leader or just a salesman. Leaders tell you why you want to do what is necessary and it sounds very simple. A complicated message is a symptom of a bad leader. Timing is also a factor - it may not be a lack of courage but a lack of courage at the right time. The mark of a higher level of leadership is doing the the right but unpopular thing at a time when everything seems to be going very well.