I’d rather be respected than liked.”
How many times have you heard that? How many leadership books preach this gospel? It sounds tough. Principled. Like something a real leader would say.
It’s also terrible advice.
I learned this lesson the hard way during my banking years. I was leading a team through our third merger in five years. Morale was in the basement. I convinced myself that being the “tough but fair” leader was what the situation required. I made the hard calls. I held people accountable. I didn’t sugarcoat the challenges we faced.