100 Ways to Motivate Others

Chapter 31. Stop Cuddling Up

I never gave them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.

—Harry S. Truman

Unconsciously, managers without leadership habits will often seek, above all else, to be liked. Rather than holding people accountable, they let them off the hook. They give non-performers the uneasy feeling that everything’s fine. They are managers who seek approval rather than success.

But this habit has a severe consequence. It leads to a lack of trust in the workplace. Lack of trust: the most common problem “issue” on employee surveys.

A true leader does not focus on trying to be liked. A true leader focuses on the practices and communications that lead to being respected.

It’s a completely different goal that leads to ...