Week 2 Prompt
Kasper Rorsted, chief executive of Henkel, the consumer and industrial products company based in Düsseldorf, Germany, recently talked about the first time he had to be someone else’s boss: I first became someone else’s boss in 1989, right after I was promoted from sales rep at Digital Equipment Corporation to sales manager at 27. I had about 20 people at that point. All but two of them were older than I was. When you’re 27, you’re inexperienced, so you don’t know what to fear. I didn’t know what I probably should have known. The first time I realized it was serious was when, after about six months, I had to lay somebody off. And then suddenly you move from the sunny side of the deal to the real deal. I remember I was sleeping very poorly for almost a week. He had a family.
One of the lessons I learned from that, which I’ve been very aware of since, is to be friendly, but not a friend. I had grown up in the company and I knew everybody, so I was more a friend. But then I had to start having honest conversations with people about how they performed, and that taught me a lesson. I’ve always been friendly, but I will never be friends again. When we have parties, I’m the one who will leave early.
Based on Rorsted’s comments, answer the following questions:
- What do you think Rorsted means that he could “be friendly, but not a friend” once he became a boss and had to have difficult conversations with others? Do you agree with his perspective about being friendly versus being friends?
- Do you think being friends makes having honest conversations in the workplace more difficult? Explain. How can a person prepare for the difficult conversations that are necessary as one becomes a boss or supervisor?
Justify your responses and be sure to correctly cite and reference your sources.