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They Like Me! They Really Like Me!

Do your employees have to like you for delegation to work within your team? Not necessarily.

“Like” is a fleeting state of mind. It is just not possible to maintain popularity with your employees in every situation or with every single individual. To strive for that scenario is to set yourself up for failure—and the mission of your organization as well. After all, if you end up trying to please everyone, you please no one. And losing faith with your boss, your stockholders, or consumers in exchange for popularity among your employees can severely cripple your company.

But developing a good rapport with your employees encourages trust and loyalty. In fact, you’ll need that trust and loyalty for delegation to work effectively within your team. Your employees have to trust that you’re fair and consistent in dealing with issues and team conflicts. They also will need to feel confident that you will loyally back them if something beyond their control goes wrong.

In short, employees are more apt to “like” you if you’re authentic, fair, and consistent—all the ingredients of true integrity.