In today’s workplace environment where doing more with less is the norm, managers are constantly being pushed to drive better results from their teams. This can prove to be difficult when you have some employees achieving and exceeding goals while others are barely reaching the end zone.

While some organizations will point to the employee for a lack of engagement or passion, they overlook the skill set of the manager as a potential issue. The manager, who is great at planning, organizing and providing structure to the team, undoubtedly needs more than great execution skills to see better results. Employees want someone to lead, motivate and inspire them and are more likely to feel excited about their work if they are empowered.

Employees that are motivated, challenged and valued instead of just “managed” will put in the extra effort to accomplish tasks that are central to the goals of the organization. This results in higher productivity, lower absenteeism, greater employee retention, superior service quality, more satisfied and loyal customers, and improved bottom-line business results.

The foundation of any organization is leadership and understanding what it takes to be a great leader is invaluable. Leaders draw the best out of a team by leveraging their strengths and developing their weaknesses by challenging them. Leadership skills will not appear overnight – it takes time to hone these skills. However, when you use that knowledge to develop your skills and the people around you that makes growth possible.

Simply stated, managers manage the task and get it done while leaders influence the outcome through nurturing and inspiration. Those who want to see better results will improve their leadership abilities and recognize how to use those skills interchangeably to get things done and rally the troops to impact the results.