Managing friends can be like walking a tightrope. You just got promoted and now you’re responsible for your best friend’s productivity. After the cake and champagne, reality sets in. Which relationship has priority and how do you both handle the change? Let’s be honest, if the two of you are close enough that you are spending time together outside of work, a transfer might be the best answer. No matter how much you reassure each other nothing has changed between you, the truth is everything has changed.
You are now responsible for your friend’s productivity and she is now accountable to you. Your responsibility gives you the authority to question your friend’s actions and her accountability requires that she answer you. Still think nothing has changed? To put it another way, you are no longer equals at work and that can create problems. Oftentimes, it is not always possible or practical to move one of you, so what are the some of the pitfalls and how do you (and your friend) avoid them?
For You:
- Pitfall – You have to correct your friend but you don’t want to get her in trouble
- Reality – Letting matters slide can get you in trouble
- If you choose to ignore your friend’s poor performance, you’re not doing the job you were hired to do. In short – your performance is also lacking. It takes not only managerial but moral courage to address the situation. Your employers have placed their trust in you to do the right thing. A wrong decision can erode that trust and damage your career and your friendship.
- One employee’s performance problem can erode morale and productivity for an entire team. Once that happens, the team starts to break down which leads to further performance issues. Deal with the situation ASAP so that you don’t have to do damage control later. It is more difficult to re-earn an entire team’s trust and respect than to address a problem that started the break.
For Her:
- Pitfall – Thinking you don’t have to work as hard as before because you’re connected to the boss
- Reality – You now have to be above reproach for a couple of reasons:
- Your boss is under pressure to perform and is probably on a trial period (translations: able to be fired at any time for any reason) and your slacking off will jeopardize her chance for success.
- People know that you are friends and will watch to see if you are treated differently. If your relationship makes you look like the “teacher’s pet”, it can affect team morale and unity. The best way to avoid it is to be on your best behavior.
- Your boss is trying to win the trust and respect of the team – don’t sabotage her efforts. Believe it or not, things will not be easy for your boss as she tries to keep her professional and personal life separate. You can help by doing the same.
Work is a place of social interaction. Getting work done successfully relies on building relationships and forming bonds with our colleagues. To expect supervisors and managers not to cultivate friendships among their direct reports is unrealistic. The trick to making it work is for both parties to understand the boundaries of each relationship and to keep them as separate as possible. When in doubt keep it professional in the workplace.