Managing Your Friends
Last week I started writing a story for the Web site about moving up the lab career ladder. For the story, I interviewed Randall Hansen, PhD, founder and president, Quintessential Careers. I asked Dr. Hansen about some of the common obstacles laboratorians could face when transitioning from a regular technologist or technician to a management position.
One point he brought up is that a new manager could become the boss of his former peers. This could cause some issues or awkwardness for both the manager and the laboratorians, but Dr. Hansen mentioned it doesn't have to affect your friendship, as long as you can separate the professional and personal relationships.
However, something Dr. Hansen told me brought me back about 12 years. He said, when it comes to managing your friends, "You have to be extremely careful of giving preferential (or perceived preferential) treatment to your closest friends in the lab."
Years ago, my dad used to coach my sister and I in softball and basketball. Obviously, all the girls on the teams (and their parents) knew he was coaching his daughters. My dad (who was, in my opinion, a great coach) never gave Emily and I any special treatment. Although he's never came out and said this, I believe he was harder on us than he was on the other girls -- and maybe one of the reasons why was because he didn't want anyone to think we were getting any preferential (or even perceived preferential) treatment.
It can be tough to manage (or coach) people with whom you have an established personal relationship. You might not even be giving your friends any special treatment, but others in the lab may think so anyway, just because you are their friends.
Have you experienced or seen preferential or perceived preferential treatment in your lab between friends, as either a laboratorian or a manager?