Working with friends is nice. I love to call the people I work with friends. There are advantages like you know the person’s skills, intentions and you can trust them.
There is a problem however. You don’t tend to call BS on your friends. You will be more hesitant to call them out on poor or slow performance. You don’t want to throw your friends under the bus. Of course, this is just as much your bad as theirs.
What do you do about it? Well if you are the boss it’s easier than if you are not.
I’d have a private conversation and tell them you what you are seeing. Ask for them to fix it – for you and the rest of the team. Don’t be shy. Afterall, if they are your real friend they wouldn’t want to let you down – right? You have to communicate. Don’t wait until you blow up about it.
Have you put up with bad behavior or performance from people because they are your friends (or family)?
I hired a family member years back. He’s also like a brother to me. Turns out, that brotherhood only extended to when we weren’t at work. I terminated him and we mended our closeness. I was transparent with my intentions and with my hopeful outcome. Our relationship is stronger today than ever!