[gamertime]

Hello, this does not apply to me but I'd like to say my 2 cent regardless:

Your boss cannot be your friend (or vice versa). It simply does not work out well, you can't be a leader while being friends with your followers, so I expect everyone who worked for their friends will most likely describe it as a miserable experience.

[mindwok]

I want to add my 2 cents also and say this isn't a universal truth. I've definitely had bosses who have become friends, even whilst working together. Sometimes it feels that authority and being close in a friendly way are mutually exclusive, but I don't think they are. Good leaders maintain boundaries, set clear expectations, and don't violate them. You can do that whilst being friends, but it's not easy.

[sokoloff]

I hired a close friend as a direct report. It worked well, because we could both compartmentalize the different relationships at difficult moments, but could leverage the trust and ease of communication granted by a long relationship most of the time.

A decade passed and same guy is a direct report again. So far, it’s going well again.

I’ve been fortunate to never face a round of budget cuts while a close friend was reporting to me. That would be difficult to navigate, regardless of the outcome.

[coffeebeqn]

Me too- my last manager is still my friend after leaving and there was only a little bit of a change after he left the company. I think we both valued our friendship over the company though

[kcplate]

It’s the chicken or the egg kind of problem. I think it’s easier to become friends with a boss. Less easy for a friend to become your boss.

[Aeolun]

I think it’s perfectly possible to be friends with someone I do not respect professionally. But it would be impossible to have such a person be my boss.

[s1artibartfast]

I would say that the best bosses I have ever had were also close friends.

This ultimately comes down to the characteristics you seek in friends, friendships, and work.