Why You Don't Want a Nice Boss

bbc.com

2 pointsdjcrayon2 comments

I’ve seen plenty of bosses who might talk the talk about demanding exceptional performance but, all too often, they just want employees to like them. What’s more, they want people to speak well of them, to be “friends” with them. ... Some of the best leaders I’ve seen, whether in research or coaching, come to work with a razor-sharp focus on results. These immensely successful bosses don’t care much about being liked.

He's missing the point of "niceness" (as a trait for managers) entirely. It isn't about wanting to be liked; it's about treating people decently because it's the right thing to do, and no so coincidently is the right strategy for getting the results, in both the short term and the long term.

The idea that people who go out of their way to treat people decently (despite the pervasive pressures and inducements not to do) only do so out of a desire to be "liked" strikes me as a very... shallow, and sad way of viewing the world.

Exactly, I was unsure what to make of this story. While being demanding of exceptional performance may pay off in the short term, I've seen many environments where this creates a moral problem in the longer term - typically leading to staff turnover.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com