I have found a few facts about the religioud leadership in Buddhism and here they are. Budhhism leadership is:
v passed down in lineages, which are groups of teachings or practices handed down from teachers to their students, and are always traced from monks and nuns, back to the Buddha
v master or guru occupies the main role in spiritual development
vDalai Lama- leader of Tibetan Buddhism, emphasized monastic discipline, reinforced the sutras, or original teachings of Buddha