Six reasons why your subordinates hate you

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As a leader, do you want to be liked, feared or respected?

Regardless of your choice, it's unlikely that any of you would want to be hated by people you talk to every day. 

Kudos to those who can say "haters gonna hate". But if you suspect there is more than one person in your team who doesn't seem to like you very much, maybe there is a reason. 

Here are six possible reasons why they don't like you, according to Business insider:

1. You call your subordinates on their days off, even if they are on sick leave

The idea of annual leave is to allow the employee have a holiday and wind down. If the employee is a key part of the business, of course, it would be expected of him or her to respond when something urgent comes up. However, for more junior staff, getting bombarded during their holidays for trivial matters is inconsiderate. As their senior, you should make sure that your teammates have updated you on the progress of their projects before they go away. 

And when your teammate is sick, it's crucial for you to understand and take in the fact that your teammate is not well enough to sit at his or her desk. Many people will feel guilty calling in sick so they take up small responsibilities while feeling awful on bed. To be a considerate boss, you should not put a guilt trip your teammates to work when they call in sick. 

2. You hog the limelight too much

Do you constantly use the word "I" when associating with success?

Do you invite your subordinates to meetings so they can present their own ideas or accomplishments?

If you answer to the above two questions is yes and no , it seems like you are intentionally taking credit of their hard work. Experts have coined the expression 'behaviour territorialism' for this. 

3. You expect them to act like you

It's natural to connect with people who are similar to you. But good bosses understand that different personalities is one of the keys to a high-functioning team. Give suggestions to your teammates but also take in some of their ideas and advice. 

4. You are quick to blame your junior for mistakes, but rarely expresses gratitude when they succeed

You go easy on yourself, but when your junior does something wrong, you make a big scene out of it. Or whenever someone else comes to confront your with an issue, your instinct is to divert the issue to your junior. While you are not the root cause of the problem, blaming your junior – who is your team member – definitely makes you look bad. It shows that your inability to manage people as a leader. 

According to Forbes, if employees don't perform the way you wanted them to, that's your leadership mistake and with luck, the source of great learning for you. 

At any level of management, you took the job knowing that the role put you in charge and on the hot seat for every success and failure on the team -- no exceptions.

5. You say 'yes' to everything 

You might thought being a yes man should be ideal for employees. However, for them, having a senior who never pushes back on ideas means that you are not devoted to give them any guidance they need to grow professionally. Good bosses know that being kind and empathetic doesn't equate to saying yes to everything. If you care enough to want your teammate to like you, then make an effort to get to know their needs. 

6. You act like it's the end of the world every day

Be rational and think about the positives of the situation. Your junior looks up to you. Spreading fear or anxiety every day is unhealthy for you and the entire workplace.