Aim for respect rather than being liked.
You do not want to walk around and give your staff hugs. You want your staff to give you all they have got. You want to create an atmostphere of mystique, an air of power, authority while maintaining sincere friendliness without the desperate need to be liked. You have to remain detached.
One day you may need to sack someone, even that someone who, if you have not been leading by respect, by now has become your best friend. Don’t make it tougher on yourself than you have to. On the other scale you may need to promote some of these people and you do not want to be seen as having favorites.
If you are in a managing or leadership role than your employees need to be able to look up to you, respect you and have you as a role model. They can’t do that if all they see when they look at you is a pub drunk rolling on the floor on a Friday evening company event. You can’t create a mystique if try to be their best pal. Maintain a distance, put your trust in your employees and they wont see you as a standoffishness but will respect you for the space you give them.
Maintain a physical distance as well – no hugging, back slapping and kissing, arm wrestling, office football, etc. Maintain your dignity at all times while maintaining your style, credibility, sanity and authority.