Politics of Supervising Friends
So what does politics have to do with good leadership? Well, to start with, politics involves being aware of the effects your words and actions have on others. And - even more importantly - it also means knowing how to influence people.
Effective supervisors know how to spot these types of challenges and quickly develop skills to overcome them. Regardless of the challenge, the primary objective is to accomplish organizational objectives.
One of the skills that successful leaders need to master is a bit of a dirty word these days. It's not the sort of thing they offer leadership training courses on, but it lies at the heart of most business relationships. What I'm talking about is office politics.
What this means is that even though personal relationships have been developed with friends, older/more seasoned employees, or a bond formed with younger workers, the supervisor must maintain a leadership perspective at all times.
Supervising Friends
This challenge is one of the most difficult for new supervisors to handle. Initially, there is an uncomfortable feeling of trying to balance friendship and leadership. It is not uncommon for new supervisors to deal with jealousy, resentment, and a bit of conflict from individuals who have been good friends and former peers.
Key factors in managing friends:
- Realize that there is a possibility the relationship may not continue. Discuss your balance issue of friendship vs. leadership and ask for his/her support of you in your new role.
- Avoid holding personal conversations at work. It creates the perception you’re playing favorites with friends.
- Hold a “press conference” with all direct reports to address issue of, “Although Joe and I are friends, our friendship does not affect the relationship we have at work while I’m his supervisor…” Handle the friendship issue proactively upon taking a leadership role.
- Be aware of the dangers in sharing the inside scoop with friends. Avoid sharing of leadership-only information-even if your friend presses you for the “inside scoop”… This is one of the most dangerous aspects of supervising friends and should be avoided at all costs! Leadership information is for leaders of the company only. If a friend continues to press for information, appropriate feedback must be given to stop the behavior.
- Handle conflicts with friends and don’t procrastinate. Issues must be resolved quickly to minimize impact to the business. Provide feedback immediately.
- Don’t use your friend by sharing your frustrations, concerns, etc. about the organization-even if sharing them after hours. This jeopardizes your credibility as an effective leader. Also, it creates an environment in which your friend is privy to information that may be of a sensitive nature.
Listen to what everyone says: be careful not to spend all your time with people who agree with you. Your fiercest opponents are valuable people: they help you gauge the level of resistance, they set out the arguments you need to defeat, and, if they eventually come round to your way of thinking, they will be some of your most valuable supporters.
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