Finding the right distance as a manager

Building effective relationships with those you manage doesn’t have to mean keeping your distance, but it’s all about balance.

One of the most common bits of advice given to new managers is to avoid getting too close to the people you manage. It’s important advice, but it vastly oversimplifies the relationship between manager and direct report. Ignoring this advice will lead to problems when you need to handle hard situations or deliver tough feedback, but following it at face value can rob you of rich relationships that will make you a better and more effective manager.

My first management role involved assuming leadership of a team that I’d already been part of for more than a year.

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