When Your Friend Becomes Your Boss, Reminisces By Olatunji Disu
Having a friend for a boss is something that happens in the workplace, but we rarely talk about it. Managing the transition from being a pally to a supervisor is typically complex, particularly in the law enforcement field. Workplace relationships have the potential to go sour when new opportunities like promotions present themselves.
Friendships can sometimes produce tension, particularly for people who work in hierarchical institutions such as the police.Law enforcement oversight differs significantly from the typical business atmosphere. Once elevated to a position of authority, subordinates must salute and henceforth take directives. When one friend advances, the dynamic of the friendship automatically shifts from equality to superiority. As coursemates, it is natural to feel envious, but stop it. It is not beneficial.
Honestly congratulate your new boss the same way you’d have expected to be done to you if the tables were turned. Cast aside your ego, and adopt an attitude of genuine excitement. Let him know he has your support for his new role and you wish to see him succeed. Depending on the temperament of your friend-turned-boss, recognise and expect a few changes ahead. If he is magnanimous with power and authority and you play your role with utmost emotional intelligence, this experience might solidify the relationship rather than mar it.
Be productive and do not put your new boss in a position to fail or sabotage his effort; else, you will undermine your friendship and the potential for career advancement. It is also important not to use your friendship as a means for preferential treatment, at the expense of your friend’s position or professional reputation.
Prepare for the possibility of relationship shifts. Do not be surprised to discover character traits you detest which you were unaware of during your years of friendship. Allow your friend to set his own priorities and recognise what is expected of you as a subordinate.
Show him you will respect his authority and will not take him for granted. Remember, your friend has joined another set of senior officers who will be observing how you talk to and approach your new boss.
As they say in this part of the world, work hard, pray, and wait for your time.
The sustainability of the friendship also largely depends on the attitude of the friend who is now a superior. Attitude, as they say, is everything. In this circumstance, it has the capacity to either mar or strengthen the friendship.
The new boss must strive to get off to a good start through empathic leadership. Life, they say, is in phases and one must be reminded that nothing lasts forever, not even position, authority, privileges or life itself.In the best interest of the friendship, the superior should never see himself as lord over his friend, rather, he must consider himself as a member of a team he is privileged to captain. After all, a tree does not make a forest.
