From Old English 'laedan,' causative of 'lithan' (to go) — literally 'to cause to go,' leadership as making others move.
To go before or show the way; to guide, direct, or be in charge of.
From Old English 'lǣdan' meaning 'to lead, guide, conduct, carry, bring,' the causative form of 'līðan' (to go, travel), from Proto-Germanic *laidijaną (to cause to go, to lead), from PIE root *leit- (to go forth, die). The word is a causative: if 'līðan' meant 'to go,' then 'lǣdan' meant 'to make someone go' — to lead is to cause movement in others. The PIE root *leit- also meant 'to die,' treating death as the ultimate going forth, the final departure. Key roots: *leit- (Proto-Indo-European: "to go forth, depart, die").
The word 'lead' is a causative of an old verb meaning 'to go' — so 'to lead' literally means 'to make others go.' The same root gives us 'lodestar' (a guiding star, one that leads the way) and 'load' (originally what is carried on a journey, then what is led or conveyed). Even 'lode' in gold mining means a leading vein of ore.