GREAT LEADERS

“ A great leader never sets himself above his followers except in carrying responsibilities. ”
— Jules Ormont

Who were the great leaders of LOST?

There is a short list of those who can call leaders.

The Others: Jacob, Widmore, Eloise, Dogen, Horus, Ben, Flocke.
The 815ers: Jack, Sawyer.

Jack was made the de facto leader after the crash because of his medical skills and calm demeanor. Sawyer became the de facto leader when Jack left the island. He also had his followers during the time flash to the 1970s Dharma.

The Others had a longer list of leaders. Jacob was the island leader as his power came from the light source.  The first leaders we saw in ancient times were the unknown Roman ship survivors who Crazy Mother killed off. Widmore and Eloise shared the duties of leadership during the 1950s, but both left the island. Horus was the Dharma leader who made peace with the Others, but was killed off in Ben's purge. Dogen was the leader at the temple. And Flocke (smoke monster) used terror to get the island survivors of both the Others and 815ers to his side (in a means to kill off all the candidates leaving the island unprotected so he could leave).

Locke is not mentioned as a leader because he did not have any followers. Boone was his assistant until his death. Charlie was a hanger-on. Locke did not supervise any rescue with Michael's boat. Locke wanted to be considered a leader, but he fails to meet the definition. He could not get the O6 back to the island until after his own death.

Were any of the leaders mentioned "great?"

If you measure it by great wealth, then Widmore was one.
If you measure it by tyrannical power, then Ben was for a time.
If you measure it by likability, then perhaps Horus tenure as Dharma leader was good.

But none of the 815 survivors could hold a trophy as being the greatest leader of all.
Even the wannabee leaders like Kate, Locke, Sayid or Michael, each had their own flaws, their own  agendas, and their own pitfalls.