[_heimdall]

I wonder if the author really meant thought leaders, not just leaders.

At least in the web dev space, framework and tool authors are often looked to as thought leaders.

There's definitely something to be said for an opinion after taking action and learning the lessons of building a framework, but it does set a perverse incentive to build yet another framework if you want your opinion to be heard.

[endemic]

Right, kind of a “put up or shut up” sort of thing. Easier to listen to/take seriously someone who has actually written the code.