A man has shared a workplace lesson after saying that being a friendly and flexible boss made him realise the importance of maintaining professional boundaries. Hemant Wadhwani shared a video on Instagram in which he spoke about his experience of managing a team at a previous workplace. He said he had always tried to make his junior colleagues feel that he was not superior to them.
However, he said the experience eventually changed his view of how managers should interact with their teams.
“Never ever be a cool boss. I repeat, never ever be a cool boss,” Wadhwani said in the video.
He explained that he did not like making people feel that he was above them simply because he was their manager. But he said he later realised that managers need to establish clear boundaries with their teams.
“You need to create some boundaries, some very clear boundaries, because the leverage that you are providing is actually destroying you,” he said.
Wadhwani claimed that giving his team too much flexibility eventually made him feel that some people were taking advantage of it.
Watch the video here:
“You don’t know when people start misusing that and start backstabbing you,” he added.
He said the experience had taught him that managers should maintain a clear professional line with their teams.
“I gave a lot of leverage to all my team, all the people who were junior to me,” he said, adding that it was better for managers to make their boundaries clear.
The video has sparked a discussion on social media, with several users agreeing that professional boundaries are important at work. Some users, however, disagreed with the idea that managers should avoid being friendly, arguing that kindness and professionalism can exist together.
The post was shared with the caption, “Never be a cool boss.”
(The claims made in the video are based on Wadhwani’s personal experience and have not been independently verified.)
About the Author
