If you are a first-time manager, it is inevitable that you will struggle with what to do and whether to be bossy or friendly with your team. Both extremes can be harmful, so it is paramount to strike a balance. Maintain a clear distinction between personal and professional relationships while remaining friendly and approachable. There is a thin line between being friendly and being authoritative, and maintaining it is a bit tricky for managers.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind on how to be an employee’s manager and not their best friend:

1. Stay professional: As a manager, you should avoid discussing your personal life or the lives of team members. Keeping calm in every situation will prevent team members from feeling intimidated. Being a professional requires you to be approachable, and eager to help your team members solve their challenges. Even if they have some personal concerns that might interfere with the work, you should still offer the support they need by giving them work from home or setting up a few leaves without compromising the work priorities.

2. Clear and distinct boundaries: It is important to maintain clear and distinct boundaries between your team members and you, as well as between work and your personal life. In order to maintain a professional demeanour, it is important that you keep the conversation focused on the topic at hand.

3. Be responsible and respect confidentiality: Make sure that you do not share sensitive information with your employees that are not directly related to their work. Likewise, make sure that you do not share sensitive information about them with others. This is necessary to maintain a level of trust and professionalism with employees and team members.

4. Favouritism should be avoided: Do not favor any employee or member of the team, as it can discourage others from performing well. Having the ability to lead by example is very important. You should also keep in mind to follow company policies, and treat all employees fairly and with respect, you should set an example of yourself being a good leader and avoid making any favourites.

5. Be consistent in your approach: The key to being a good manager is to be consistent in your behaviour and outlook in order to ensure your effectiveness. To make sure that things don’t get worse, you must always adopt a neutral mindset in every situation. In order to make an objective and impartial decision, you must think objectively while making the decision. It is important that you consider what is best for the organization and for all of its employees.

Final words

These were a few of the tips that you should put into practice in order to be an employee’s manager rather than their best friend. If you don’t maintain the balance of being approachable while also remaining authoritative to ensure that work deadlines are met and the quality of work is improved, you risk losing your position as a manager. If you want to learn more about this, then check out Compliance Prime’s website.