What does a leader do?
Leaders pave the way for a company to achieve certain goals. They are in charge of bringing the organization to greater heights. They set the direction of the organization, much like how a captain sets the sails of the ship. They are responsible for coming up with main strategies and alternatives should there be challenges along the way. Leaders ensure that the company is guided by its vision and mission and that the employees emulate company values. They do so through leading by example. Leaders should have strategic skills, decision-making skills, and interpersonal skills.
Leader responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real leader resumes:
- Manage UNIX and mainframe systems software staff.
- Achieve business metrics and implement WCM tools and processes.
- Lead instrument calibration, OOS investigation, change control, deviation documentation to comply with GMP.
- Lead a group to help a dog food producer to gain traction in the grocery store channel
- Perform diagnostics, lead audits, kaizen events, value stream mapping, PDCA teams and employee involvement.
- Lead in PTA efforts to recognize school staff by planning events and organize and plan monthly appreciation gifts.
- Teach and lecture on the lessons the god.
- Balance the vault, drop, and ATM at the end of the night.
- Train on POS and other ordering systems.
- Train cashiers how to properly use the POS system.
- Balance ATM and branch cash on-hand to daily reports.
- Activate new GL functionality with PCA scenario and document splitting.
- Obtain and schedule service requests by taking orders from pet owners.
- SAP replace dozens of decentralize legacy systems on the go-live day.
- Plan and teach Sunday school lessons and activities; PTA volunteer.
Leader skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Leaders are proficient in Customer Service, Strong Time Management, and Excellent Interpersonal. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Organizational skills, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Leaders that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 14%
Maintain professional manner, customer service, and sensitivity to diverse populations while leading students and families through orientation programming.
- Strong Time Management, 9%
well organized, detail oriented, flexible, focused, strong time management, diligent, reliable
- Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
Experience with training and writing procedures for production personnel, and excellent Interpersonal and Communication skills.
- PET, 6%
Promoted to PET representative within the first quarter of 2008 based upon clinical knowledge and performance.
- Digital Transformation, 6%
Work with multiple industries on long and short term projects in the areas of Digital Transformation and Infrastructure and Customer Experience.
- Work Ethic, 5%
Directed and supervised participants' work ethic on-site at local non-profits
"customer service," "strong time management," and "excellent interpersonal" are among the most common skills that leaders use at work. You can find even more leader responsibilities below, including:
Problem-solving skills. For certain leader responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a leader rely on this skill, as "recreation workers need strong problem-solving skills." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what leaders do: "achieved territory growth year-over-year through the sale of digital/print curriculum, platform solutions, professional development services and strategic initiatives. "
Flexibility. Another common skill required for leader responsibilities is "flexibility." This skill comes up in the duties of leaders all the time, as "recreation workers must be flexible when planning activities." An excerpt from a real leader resume shows how this skill is central to what a leader does: "displayed leadership and flexibility daily creating fun yet instructional activities. "
Physical strength. While "physical strength" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to leader responsibilities. Much of what a leader does relies on this skill, seeing as "most recreation workers should be physically fit." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of leaders: "key strengths energetic; innovative; results-producer; self-motivated; strong work ethic. "
The three companies that hire the most leaders are:
- Panera Bread982 leaders jobs
- Deloitte936 leaders jobs
- CDM Smith569 leaders jobs
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Compare different leaders
Leader vs. Assistant program leader
Assistant program leaders are skilled professionals who are responsible for assisting program leaders in executing activities related to the goals and objectives of an organization. These assistant program leaders must train employees about the daily operations and quality performance to achieve improvements in their productivity. They are required to provide outstanding customer service to develop relationships and earn a reputation for increasing customer satisfaction. Assistant program leaders must also lead the assigned team to communicate the organization's sales goals that drove maximum results.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a leader are more likely to require skills like "strong time management," "excellent interpersonal," "digital transformation," and "work ethic." On the other hand, a job as an assistant program leader requires skills like "math," "leadership," "customer satisfaction," and "inventory management." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that assistant program leaders earn slightly differ from leaders. In particular, assistant program leaders are 3.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a leader. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Leader vs. Operations team leader
An operations team leader is an individual who manages teams, encouraging cooperation, productivity, and teamwork. Operations team leaders foster team unity and enhance the daily efficiency of the companies or any business establishment. They manage a diverse workforce in companies to make sure that the organizational operations are efficient. Also, they implement programs and processes and oversee building maintenance. It is also their responsibility to manage mechanical and human resources and establish a team budget.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real leader resumes. While leader responsibilities can utilize skills like "strong time management," "pet," "digital transformation," and "work ethic," operations team leaders use skills like "safety procedures," "customer satisfaction," "ladders," and "develop team."
Operations team leaders earn similar levels of education than leaders in general. They're 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Leader vs. Team leader/trainer
The team leader or the trainer primarily focuses on supporting the engineering team and is committed to fostering communication and leadership and giving training to the aspirants. Other duties include planning, executing, budgeting, monitoring, controlling, consulting, and collaborating with his/her /her teams.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, leaders are more likely to have skills like "strong time management," "excellent interpersonal," "pet," and "digital transformation." But a team leader/trainer is more likely to have skills like "safety procedures," "training materials," "training programs," and "food preparation."
Team leader/trainers typically earn similar educational levels compared to leaders. Specifically, they're 2.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Leader vs. Girl scout leader
Types of leader
Updated January 8, 2025
