While you do have skills unique to your character, you are always the squad leader. The player character's skills are appropriate for a squad leader. Squad leaders spend most of their time directing their squad and must rely on the group's skills and abilities to accomplish mission objectives. The greatest leaders know how to best utilize the talents of their team, and that is the player's task in Alliance. The player does have two unique and useful skills however.
Tactics improves the combat abilities of the squad.
When the player is in close proximity to his or her troopers they will be quicker to engage targets and fire more accurately. Their target selection will also be more intelligent. The Leadership skill improves the overall morale and emotional conditions of a player's troopers when he or she is close to them, so the greater the distance, the easier it is for a trooper's morale to drop. Player skills increase with experience as well. The higher the player's skills, the farther away the troopers can be from the player and still receive the benefits.