32 of 69

No

Write now Article Tools

A manager's responsibility is to get a job done with the resources available. It is not important if the employees like the manager. Certainly to be liked is good, but not necessary.
A good manager will utilize his resources to the best advantage of the task at hand and in the long run will be respected for being impartial with employees.

Not all employees are created equal. A good manager recognizes that to accomplish the task at hand the strong points of each employee much be understood and utilized.

This does not always create a feeling of like, but a good manager is not running a popularity contest. Managers should work to enhance the good points of each employee and help that employee grow to become even more valuable to the organization. With this employee growth, comes respect by the employee for himself and the manager when a task is done successfully.

I have known managers who attempted to be "friends" with their employees. In almost every case, this led to division between the employees as they felt that they had an "in" and did not have to perform to their upmost. The result was a poor task or worse a failed task with the blame being shifted down to the employees instead of on the manager who failed to lead his staff properly.

So I do not think that like is necessary and in many cases can be detrimental.

Learn more about this author, John Beeson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about As a manager, is it important for your employees to like you??
We want to hear your view. Write now!