Are you unconsciously turning off your employees and possibly even driving them away? When Dale Dauten, author of the weekly syndicated column, Corporate Curmudgeon, needed a new word for this art of anti-leadership through de-motivation, he came up with “impedership.”

Following up on Dauten's concept, the St. Louis-based online training company ej4 came up with a rapid-fire video specifically to help managers in this area. It's presented by founding partner Ken Cooper at www.ej4.com/Impedership.asp. In laying the groundwork, he relies on the old adage, “People don't leave their jobs; they leave their bosses,” and asks the revealing question, “Are your people more productive when you're not around?”

Don't answer yet. First, take a couple minutes with me, and find out if you see yourself in any of the following managerial traits. By the end of this column, you might have a better idea if you're guilty of being an “impeder,” rather than a leader. Do you:

Lord it over them? Have a special parking spot, cafeteria or even “executive bathroom?” Take expensive lunches while cutting costs everywhere else? The bad message you're sending is, of course, that you're better than everyone else. You're not.

Use management buzzwords? Don't sound like a classic Dilbert cartoon. Using management-speak to appear more knowledgeable is a sure-fire de-motivator.

Rely on outside consultants to tell you what's going on? Paying somebody else to talk to your own employees about how to improve operations makes you seem aloof.

Dismiss any good idea, no matter how small a piece of the overall corporate puzzle it might represent? As a department manager or even company president, your need for the broad picture shouldn't blind you to the little things.

Treat employees' questions as interruptions? Or worse yet, not give them your full attention when they're trying to communicate and get an answer? Clearly, typing and listening don't mix.

Pile work onto only the good employees because you know you can rely on them, while at the same time, “rewarding” bad workers with fewer important tasks?

Not even know their names? And several other examples...watch the video.

As Cooper sums up, the first step in a change for the better is to know what you're doing wrong. Identify your de-motivating actions, then take the bold step of asking your employees to add to your list. Finally (and this doesn't require a rocket science degree), don't do those things anymore.