New Leader: Not Everyone Needs to Like you!
As a new leader, you’re probably overwhelmed with information and new responsibilities. You have teams to put together or you inherited a team with all their ideas and solutions about how to change the world.
Needless to say; you’re anxious and you’re questioning yourself:
- Are they going to like me?
- Are they going to think that I am incompetent?
- What happens if I disagree with some of the solutions that don’t work anymore? Will they not like working for me?
As human beings, we want to feel a sense of belonging within our community. As a manager, you already know that it’s more important to be respected than it is to be liked, and yet, when you’re new to the group, social instinct can be overpowering.
Do you need be like by your staff members?
The short answer is: NO! The desire to be liked can cause a leader to make very poor decisions.
This is especially challenging if you were a team member and was promoted to lead the team you were once a part of. If you are a new team lead and still want to be friends with the team and liked by your former coworkers, this can lead to charges of favoritism, lack of clarity in responsibilities, and poor results.
Remember that your actions now set the precedent for the future. Be cautious of creating an overly-friendly atmosphere that can backfire down the road.
Your team wants a leader they can trust and look up to.
It’s okay if they don’t warm up to you right away. Don’t go overboard trying to be the cool new manager that everyone absolutely loves.
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