To start this article off and give it some credibility, I have gained experience in management over the last four years. This experience ranges from a lot of different jobs and opportunities I have had during my college career. I have been a supervisor that watched over lifeguards and swim instructors during peak times, a teacher and a coach that had to evaluate around 100 students, and a manager for a high-end country club. I am currently duties manager for my fraternity and the amount of leadership experience I have received through ROTC trumps all of the other experience combined.

Most people think it gets easier as you rise up. Those people can only see things from their viewpoint, as in the manager is the guy who gives out all the work and gets all the credit for when it is done right. However, they don't see all the behind the scenes stuff and the stress that comes with having to deal with other people. So here are the top __ reasons being a manager sucks.

1. Evaluations come from both up and down the chain

It is true that if the workers get the job done right, on-time, and on budget, but the manager is given the credit. However, if even one of those workers messes up, it is also the manager who takes the heat. There is no such thing as being your own boss. There is always going to be someone you have to answer to. One of the things that always stressed me out in my private sector jobs was maintaining the balance of going hard enough on the workers that my manager was pleased, but also not going so hard that the workers didn't like coming to work. I found that in order to maintain this balance, I went with the mentality "No job is too small." As a lifeguard manager, I didn't necessarily have to put myself in rotation, but to show the subordinates that we were all in this together, I would put myself in the rotation every once in a while.

2. Balancing being a friend and being the boss

This is extremely hard for me. I love meeting new people and talking with them. I think it is important that subordinates can come and talk to me about anything. I'm not saying I have to agree with them and/or be sympathetic to what they are talking about, but I want them to view me as someone who is open to reason and logic and they can speak their mind to. However, when you are trying to develop a workplace relationship with subordinates, you have to monitor the line of being in debt or showing special favors towards to them. One of the main causes of this line being crossed is when you get promoted from within a company and you go from working with Joe to managing him. Joe obviously going to think you're going to give him the easier shifts and be more lenient with him. What both of you have to realize is that you're on opposite sides of the line now and you have to respect the line. It is not rude to tell someone that even though you are a friend, you are still holding them to the same standards has everyone else.

3. Passive Aggressive vs. Direct Confrontation

I hate directly confronting people. Managers are still people with emotions and sympathy. Even though I said above that you should be able to distinguish the line, it is actually hard to do. Personally, I tend to use the passive aggressive route, but I have used direct confrontation before. There are pros and cons to each. The passive aggressive route allows the manager to fix something without singling someone out or making things seem personal. The direct confrontation route allows the problem to be fixed immediately, but it can cause tension in the workplace. When using the direct confrontation method you have to go be clear, concise, and have legitimate consequence with weight. Basically, use a passive aggressive attitude while directly confronting someone

4. Evaluations

If you are ever in the position where you have people under you, you will have to evaluate them. There are many types of evaluation and the simple truth is that they all suck. Grading performance can be very subjective. You have to be fair, but you also have to tell people when they aren't meeting the standard. What is even worse is trying to tell someone they are doing very well without inflating their ego or making it seem like favoritism.

5. Being the bad guy

When you're the manager, you are always the bad guy because you are the one who has to give out the work. If you have to correct subordinates, they get upset with you. If things don't go the right way then your manager gets mad at you. The quickest way I have found to fix this is just accept it. I don't try to make anyone mad but when push comes to shove, I don't settle for failure and therefore I have had subordinates get mad because they have to put in extra work.