I used to be a manager some 5 years back & I was probably the most loved by my reports. But I have seen my peers & bosses showing this bossy nature of theirs to extract work from people. Apparently they consider this as an entitlement to extract work from people.
One key difference I noticed with these people & me is:
These managers always enjoyed being on the good books of their bosses.
On the other hand, I as a Manager could hardly enjoy my rapport with my leaders as I was always more realistic. In fact I used to give a tough time to my boss by making him more responsible for things that he used to delegate to me and my subordinates.
Then there’s this other set of managers that magically maintain good relationships with both their subordinates & their bosses. I think that’s the art of true management which I could not crack myself.