A leader is not a good leader of a group until he is a good leader to a person. The group is made out of individuals, and the same care and consideration must be given to the person as to the group. Time consuming and tedious? Yes. But it comes with the territory.

To a point, yes

This is very good because an employee will see the boss as being a friend which will help them to trust their leader more. Trust is vital to a good working relationship. Plus sometimes, the reason for bad performance is due to a personal problem. If the leader has a rapport with each team member, they may be able to sort the problem out quicker instead of the employee being told off for something that may not be their fault. Then thier personal problem goes unnoticed and turns into stress.

That's why Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton served 8 years as presidents.

You want people under you to feel comfortable, but at the same time not getting to buddy-buddy is good. A leader needs to be able to put his foot down when it's called for.