The leading coefficient is the coefficient constant belonging to the variable with the highest Degree
so, if we have polynomial 7x^2 + 5, the leading coefficient is 7.
Finding leading coefficient quickly in factor format
(3x - 4)^2 * (5x^2 - 3) * (4x - 8) we don’t care about the constants by them selves. so take them out (3x)^2 * (5x^2) * (4x) and then we can simplify now 9x^2 * 5x^2 * 4x = 180x
and so x^5 is the highest degree, the Leading Coefficient is by proxy 180