From being a peer to a manager

I have worked in P&G for 6 years now. I got promoted recently and as such I became boss of a few people who were my peers/friends for about 4 years. This puts me in a very delicate situation. I don't want to boss them too much and loose their friendship or appear arrogant. At the same time, I don't want them to be casual in their approach to me. Any suggestions from my friends here as to how I set the boundaries?

Originally Posted by nitu

I have worked in P&G for 6 years now. I got promoted recently and as such I became boss of a few people who were my peers/friends for about 4 years. This puts me in a very delicate situation. I don't want to boss them too much and loose their friendship or appear arrogant. At the same time, I don't want them to be casual in their approach to me. Any suggestions from my friends here as to how I set the boundaries?

hi nitu
i will suggest dat u shd treat as a boss in office.u shd check about their work n other things dat they r fulfilling their risponsibilities or not.coz if u will treat them like friends in office then there can b loss of work.ur friends also take the work easy if they have permission to treat u as their friend in office.but yeah u shd b friendly outside the office.
if anyone complaint abt this dat u r our friend n treating us like this(if u have to scold them regarding work) then u can have a discussion and explain dat u r ofcourse a friend but doing appropriate work is must(u can give reason dat u also have to report some of ur boss,if it is so).
if u r good friends hope they all will understand u.
hope i m suggesting u rightly.let me know......
bye
sonia

Hi Nitu,

Many people experience difficulty in being both a boss and a friend. I've even heard it said you can't do both. However, Many have proved them wrong, and you can too.
To be a boss, you set limits, boundaries, clearly communicate and speak your truth. To be a friend, you follow that same advice. To wear both hats, you simply need to always speak truthfully. With respect to employees, let them know, without any charge or judgment, when something isn't quite right and that you're wearing the "boss" hat. Never make statements about them as people -- only make statements about their behaviors that aren't quite right.


There is nothing wrong in being honest and conveying to them, when u need their attention to u in the level of their boss. Also communicate to them that, this should not affect your friendship (boss-employee relation). There is no point in beating the bush which may lead to mis-understandings

All the best