The popularity of reality television has altered our everyday life. This American Life's episode Frenemies draws attention to how often contestants in reality shows repeat this phrase: "I'm not here to make friends." It's a mindset that seems to carry over to today's workplace.
True, it's wise to have a healthy separation between your work persona and your personal life. For leaders especially, a clear line needs to exist between the personal and the professional. But leadership at its root is about relationships and building trust.
Big ideas need buy-in. And buy-in can only be established when leaders are able to properly convey ideas to their team and show them results. The best teams are results-driven, cooperative groups made up of people who respect individuals talents and know their own personal limits. Good leaders foster those relationships and create opportunities for them to thrive and work collaboratively.
All too often, leaders can be observed meeting behind closed doors, pairing off into groups, hoarding the information for those who "need to know." And, while every employee certainly doesn't need to know everything, employees do need to feel that their opinions are important and can be heard, and that the business operation itself is at least as transparent as it can be. Perhaps more importantly, employees should be able to observe that their leaders are working cooperatively toward a common goal and not in opposition to one another in their day-to-day activities, because covert "alliances" belong on reality TV, not in the workplace.