Claire, nice post. I agree that managing friends can get blurry quickly. Your advice is sound, and I can tell that you have had experience with this. In my opinion, I prefer managing a friend because I never take the friend hat off. I know this is hard for some people, but I have found that being upfront and keeping everything on the table is essential. If they are not performing, we have that chat at work, not at the bar or the kids' soccer game. When we're not at work, we're just two people connecting. The most challenging part for me is conducting the evaluations. You can't play favorites, and friends have to earn their place, too. I have had friends who couldn't handle that, so I supported them the best I could. You are right, though, it does get messy sometimes.
How has your experience been managing your friends?
Thanks, Andrew. It can definitely get messy! And I'm absolutely speaking from personal experience 😅 I've found, in addition to the principles that I mention above, that if you're friends with the person *prior* to working together, having an upfront conversation about your role (leader vs. friend) can be extra helpful. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to the unique dynamic that your friendship has -- as you said, sometimes the other person can't handle it, or in other cases, there is too much weird history that is able to keep the roles clean and distinct. My hope is that the principles I shared help, but ultimately, it's always about the people involved.
Claire, nice post. I agree that managing friends can get blurry quickly. Your advice is sound, and I can tell that you have had experience with this. In my opinion, I prefer managing a friend because I never take the friend hat off. I know this is hard for some people, but I have found that being upfront and keeping everything on the table is essential. If they are not performing, we have that chat at work, not at the bar or the kids' soccer game. When we're not at work, we're just two people connecting. The most challenging part for me is conducting the evaluations. You can't play favorites, and friends have to earn their place, too. I have had friends who couldn't handle that, so I supported them the best I could. You are right, though, it does get messy sometimes.
How has your experience been managing your friends?
Thanks, Andrew. It can definitely get messy! And I'm absolutely speaking from personal experience 😅 I've found, in addition to the principles that I mention above, that if you're friends with the person *prior* to working together, having an upfront conversation about your role (leader vs. friend) can be extra helpful. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to the unique dynamic that your friendship has -- as you said, sometimes the other person can't handle it, or in other cases, there is too much weird history that is able to keep the roles clean and distinct. My hope is that the principles I shared help, but ultimately, it's always about the people involved.