Manager – what a terrible term for the workplace.  We manage our finances; we manage our schedules; but people?  Don’t they deserve more than management?!

People deserve leadership – someone who inspires and motivates them; someone who advocates for them and has their back; someone they can trust and be real with.  Simon Sinek has talked for years about the difference between leaders and managers (hint: it’s not their title or rank), but the Great Reshuffling has brought to light just how few leaders there actually are out there as people leave bad managers in droves.

So how do you know you’re a manager who needs to step up your game?  Here are a few clues:

• If you need your people in an office so YOU can know what’s going on, you’re a manager with some work to do and for the record, your people don’t need you micromanaging them – they need you clearing obstacles; 
• If the only good ideas are YOUR ideas, chances are you’re not only a bad manager, you’re also stifling the innovation and creativity of your team, thwarting your own chance for success;
• If you’ve ever thrown your team member under the bus to save your own reputation, you are definitely not a good manager and if your people haven’t already resigned, they’re planning on it.

If you’re a leader who has slipped into some bad habits, it’s time to snap out of it.  Your people need you – not to tell them how to do the job, but to create the space in which they can thrive.  And if your title doesn’t reflect some rank on the corporate ladder, that’s okay.  You can still be a leader and there’s never been a better time than now.  We need you.