He was truly interested in who this person was and what he was all about. I thought this interesting, because this worker would probably be laid off at the end of the job and never see this manager again. What I have come to learn over the years is that work is more than just this task we perform each day. It is an activity that provides dignity and meaning to our lives. Such a community looks for guidance and approval that are best provided by a leader.
Leaders typically have more expertise and the ability to point the direction.
However, real leadership is in the eye of the follower. One cannot be a leader without followers. In today's workplace, there are many heads of organizations, designated as such by virtue of their position. These people were not elected to those positions by their workforces, but rather appointed through some other arbitrary process. How they behave in those positions will determine if they become true leaders, or simply temporary caretakers of the organization's administrative processes.