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Dear Quota Team,

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I’m in software sales, and one of my peers was recently promoted to our team manager role. I was genuinely happy for him at first. We've always been close, we used to grab lunch and joke around all the time. But overnight he turned into a different person. Suddenly he’s enforcing rules he never followed, policing our CRM hygiene, and giving me “coaching notes” on calls even though our numbers were basically identical last year.

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It’s like he’s trying so hard to prove he deserves the job that he’s overcorrecting. I don’t want to resent him, but it’s getting awkward. Should I call him out privately?

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Adjusting in Location Withheld 

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Dear Adjusting,

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Don’t call him out, at least not yet. New managers almost always overcorrect at first. He’s trying to prove he belongs in the role, and that insecurity is bleeding into his behavior. Give him some grace and focus on being the steady one. Keep doing your job well, meet expectations, and treat him the same way you would’ve treated any new boss.

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If the dynamic still feels strained after a few weeks, ask for a one-on-one and frame it as wanting to stay aligned, not a critique. He’ll relax once the pressure fades, and your friendship has a better shot of surviving if you don’t make this a showdown. Good luck!