DOT Training and Reasonable Suspicion Tip 9: “Let’s keep it between ourselves.”

Here is another tip for you to consider in your DOT Training for Supervisors.
Don’t become your employee’s confidant. It’s an inappropriate mixing of roles, and it comes back you haunt you. If you’re the type of supervisor who seeks approval, you’re vulnerable to this sort of manipulation.

This excuse trap may be particularly difficult for the supervisor who perceives being a confidant as a way to be liked by an employee with significant influence

Once you assume the role of confidant, you it may be difficult to extricate yourself from it. You may find yourself being asked to keep more secrets, bend additional rules, or find yourself further entwined with your employee’s personal life and problems.

The leverage gained by keeping an employee’s secrets is largely an illusion. In reality, you’ve elevated your employee’s ability to defy your wishes. After all, you broke the rules, too, by helping him keep his infraction a secret.

Don’t put yourself in a position to be harmed by aiding a cover up. Be empathetic, but stay neutral and play it by the book.