> Especially as somehow "leader" is being interpreted by everyone as "the guy who does all work noone else does, and takes all responsibility noone else wants to take"
Hmm.
Hmm.
That's what leadership is.
But, that quote above sounds to me like exactly what a leader is?
> I'm guilty as charged as well
You two are not being charged for the same thing.
> A leader has people skills above all else.
Leadership skills and interpersonal skills and management skills are completely separate. Amazing leaders/motivators who are downright shitty people are not uncommon in our industry.
This particular leader made the classic mistake of doing too much. "Nobody else wants to do it? Nobody wants to take responsibility for this? I will. I'll do it" is the definition of a bad manager. And admitting it in your farewell post doesn't demonstrate great people skills either.
Regardless, these people are all around us. And they deserve a beer and a mentor and some help. Next time you're looking for a project to contribute to, consider helping that guy.
No, they aren't. Leadership skills are a subset of interpersonal skills and management skills overlap interpersonal (especially the leadership subset) skills.
They are all different sets, but they aren't completely separate.