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Wondering or worrying about whether or not all of your employees like you is a trap that ensnares many new managers. While everyone wants people to like them, as a manager you cannot really be concerned with that. You should and need to be more conerned with whether your employees respect you and know that you are being honest with them. Nothing can destroy a manager employee relationship quicker than for an employee to think they are your friend and then to get hit with a poor performance evaluation.

Having had approximately 20 years of managerial experience in the Navy, the Census Bureau, and for a Fortune 500 company, I've learned the hard way that you can never expect all of your employees to like you. At some point in time, someone will let you know, often very loudly and vocally, that you have been unfair to them, lied to them, or taken advantage of them. You have to ask yourself, do you like everyone you come into contact with in your life? The answer, if you're truthful, is no. That being the case, why would you be so egotistical to think that everyone is going to like you?

You're far better off, as a manager, to try and earn your employees respect, and trust. This is done by treating each employee as a distinct individual, by being fair with each of them, I didn't say treat them all the same, by being honest with them, and by earning their respect by giving them your respect.

No two people are alike, easy to say, but sometimes hard to remember when you have job tasks that need to be done. As a manager, you need to know each employee's skill set and abilities. You're probably going to find that some of your employees learn new skills faster than others. You can sometimes get around this problem by assigning faster learners to assist those who are having difficulty. This does two things; it shows your fast learners that you are willing to give them some individual responsibility, and it shows that are having problems that you're willing to give them additional assistance to get up to speed. Watch out, though, you have to assign the right person to help someone else. What's the attitude of the person you're getting ready to assign to help someone? Are they carrying an I'm better than you attitude into their assignment? Is the person you're trying to give help to, someone who is simply trying to take advantage of a situation? Both of these are pitfalls you need to avoid, if possible.

As a manager if you want to get respect

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