I have been doing several employee engagement survey projects recently and continue to notice how important it is to employees that their bosses be real – informal, open, friendly. The bosses that get mentioned in a positive light are the ones who take the time to get to know folks, even if only for a moment while passing in the hallways. The bosses that get mentioned in a negative light are nearly never bashed for not knowing the function. They are bashed because they are negative, aloof, and unfriendly.

I continue to be surprised by this because these are issues that should not exist and cost nothing to fix. Well, I suppose that if you have to retrain all your managers to be nice, there might be a small cost. But, come on, this is fare more than common sense, this is human nature.

1. Why does any professional, espectially any leader, think it is OK to be impersonal or unfriendly?

2. Why does any leadership team tolerate leaders and managers who are not likeable?

A leader is, by definition, someone who has signed up to lead the way. This does not mean leading the way in percentage of time spent in meetings or leading in creating plans and charts. This means leading people so that they might do their best work on behalf of the enterprise.

This should be simple. A no-brainer. Something that consultants like me NEVER get paid to resolve.