“Nothing destroys an organization faster than a leader with the desire to be well liked.”

Nothing destroys an organization faster than a leader with the desire to be well liked.

— Mike Speiser (@laserlikemike) November 20, 2021

One thing I know about myself is that I have a deep, aching, vicious desire to be well liked. It’s why I think I’m a good manager but a bad leader.

Can someone train themselves to be indifferent about being well liked? Is that a learnable skill? I doubt it. I think I need to give up on any career path in which wanting to be liked is a bad thing.