If you think “It’s lonely at the top” is just a cliché that doesn’t reflect a hard reality, then you’ve clearly never been at the top.

When one person is put in charge of others, no matter how good or kind or fair that person is, the power differential causes resentment in the others. Every time. It may be subtle or it may be overt, but it’s pretty much always there to some degree. And because of this underlying resentment, employees tend to be very unforgiving of tiny imperfections in the boss. And heaven forbid he or she has any major imperfections!

Your boss isn’t perfect—and neither are you. In fact, the world is made up of imperfect humans who make mistakes from time to time. So why do we tend to hold our bosses to standards of perfection not even WE can reach?

It can be lonely at the top. The fact is, bosses get kicked around, slandered, gossiped about, and blamed—a bit of a thankless job.

So why not make it just a little bit more…thankful?

Instead of joining in the chorus, show you are a class act by thanking your boss for all the things he does for you—the way she helps you learn, his patience, her clear direction, or even the special Dilly Bars he brings in as a treat occasionally. Be sincere when expressing your gratitude.

This kind of thing happens so rarely that, believe you me, it will make a huge impression. And it will go a very long way to blunting the hurt many bosses feel from the slings and arrows they get from the rest of the staff.

No, that’s not brown nosing. That’s being a good human.