The Top 50 Management Dilemmas

Preferential treatment

Managing a group of people can sometimes feel like being a parent. There can be accusations of preferential treatment, especially if you have a closer personal or professional relationship with an individual within the team. However, when resentment rises in the wider team and you hear accusations of preferential treatment being made, you must examine the situation to decide whether you are behaving fairly.

First, think:

• How stable is the team? Do members regularly quit and new members join?
• Who is the ‘named individual’ in the preferential treatment accusation? Is it someone with whom you have a close personal relationship? How long-standing is this friendship? How important is it to you? How do others know that you ...