Does Your Manager Have Leadership Skills? How Do You Know?

There is a big difference between managers and leaders. Managers are those who come to work, make sure all subordinates are getting the necessary tasks done, then leave at 5:00, never to really make a difference.

Managers sustain. They fail to upgrade their teams. They see no return in helping those under them grow personally or professionally.

Leaders are the ones who form and grow a company. Leaders try as much as possible to kill any bureaucracy and allow each member of their team to speak their mind. Leaders know that collaboration keeps employees engaged. It makes them feel important.

The best persuasion skill to get someone to do something is to get them to want to do it. Leaders make employees want to come to work every day. They create a sense of urgency and execution within the group, thus making them industry leaders.

While managers are often afraid to make their teams better, carrying a thought process that one could take their job, leaders are afraid not to better their teams, since bettering the team prevents turnovers and moves an organization forward.

Managers will sit in a boardroom and waste time conversing about topics that have been beaten to death. Leaders know that this is a waste of time. Leaders are busy conveying their vision to those under them and getting them to buy into it.

Managers are afraid to be wrong, ever clinging onto their job and hiding in between cubicles, spending the day writing emails back and forth to other managers. There is no concrete action behind these emails, only ideas that never get implemented because they could result in negative attention on the management team.

When something goes wrong, managers are quick to point the finger and cultivate an organization full of "It Wasn't Me" folks. There is always an answer why something went wrong and it is never them. Leaders take responsibility for their actions. They hold their subordinates accountable for their work and they are no exception to the rule.

Managers micromanage, overseeing every minute detail. Leaders allow for new ideas to be implemented and feel the reward is worth the risk. When a manager attempts to train, he or she is met with skepticism, as their subordinates feel that they are only it in for themselves.

Subordinates trust leaders. They know that the leader has their best interest in heart.

How do you know you're working for a leader? Under his or her guidance, you're slowly becoming a leader yourself.