Article in Entrepreneur Magazine Andrew Plato about the dangers of being overly friendly with employees.

Excerpt:

Early in my career as a founder and CEO, I desperately wanted my employees to like me. I believed that if I behaved like my “real self,” I could build stronger bonds with my team. Despite my good intentions, it seldom worked.

I had to learn, and re-learn, a crucial leadership lesson: Employees are not your friends. The inherent authority of your role creates barriers to forming healthy friendships. Worse yet, employees may leverage your friendliness to undermine your authority. This happened to me many years ago, and when it did, I was devastated.