Can Founders lead without being Liked?
As Founders do you think we need to be "liked" by our staff in order to lead? Can we be somewhat unpopular even if we're getting the job done? Obviously if we suck at our job that's a whole other thing! But how important do you all think likeability is?
In a relatively free and prosperous part of the world, in order to lead you must convince people that following you is better than their other various options.
Part of that is the attractiveness of the destination (money, career experience, stocks and IPO's, etc) adjusted by the likelihood of getting there.
And part of that is the journey - how much will they enjoy working at this company, will their personal life suffer because of the work demands, etc.
There are times a CEO needs to make an unpopular decision, but if you're doing that often enough that the team starts disliking you... it's definitely a negative and it will be hard to retain good employees.
You said something that always stick with me - sometimes you make unpopular decisions. I think as the org grows, a lot of Founders don't realize that you have to say "no" a lot, albeit sometimes implicitly. Every time we make a decision that favors one person over another - we're less popular with the other person. These things stack up, and staying "liked" over time can become a challenge.
No. You cannot lead without being liked. Leadership means people want to follow you.
All leaders must give and earn: Trust, Like, and Respect. Leaders have to be real and actually value the individuals helping them achieve great things.
People can like others that are not similar to them, have rough communication styles, or are not generally social. But you have to treat others the way you would want to be treated. You have to be authentic and treat others like humans (not objects).
Some staff may seek to learn from you (if you don't suck at your job), but they will learn what they can and then move on.
Don't try to be liked. No pandering. Just be authentic to earn trust, like and respect.
@martyb You opened with "You can't lead without being liked" then finished with a sentiment around "you do have to be respected." That was sort of my sentiment.
Ideally, we'd all be liked. Ideally. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were not exactly known for their friend making skills.
But you do need to get the job done. I don't think it's a Get out of Jail Free card for being a jerk, but it's interesting that leaders aren't necessarily always lovable.
Agree that leaders are not always the people we want to spend a weekend with.
It is complicated. And i agree with @JHercules on the point about options being a factor.
I do think you can be unpopular. Semantics get in the way a bit. But i think it is necessary to be authentic and human; if you want to build a motivated team.