Workplace competition can be beneficial to productivity, but what happens when a race's winner is placed in charge of his or her opponents? How do you supervise employees who still see you as (or refuse to see you as anything other than) an equal?

For anyone interested in incredibly awkward anecdotes, as well as possible solutions, join me as I kick off the Halloween season with an unfortunately common workplace horror story: managers dealing with workplace jealousy.

Breeding resentment

I was two years into an editorial position at a Washington, D.C., news media research company when a co-worker and friend was fired. It was a pretty big deal as he was one of the original people hired for our department.

He and my supervisor started working together, even vied for that same managerial position. But it was my supervisor who won out and had been placed in charge of myself, my co-worker and a slew of part-time college students.

And now the co-worker was being let go by an individual who he not only didn't respect as a superior, but also openly resented. To call the situation awkward would be an understatement as my friend chose to go out in a blaze of glory, as opposed to a more restrained and professional approach.

In the middle of the office — and in a loud voice — my co-worker raised questions about our supervisor's experience, pointing out his lack of a researchable background in the news media industry. Eventually, he was ushered from the building by security, but the damage had been done.

My supervisor was a mess. He approached me afterward, obviously frazzled and for some reason assuring me his background was only obscure because of reasons. The only thing really occupying my mind at the time was this one simple question: What was it like managing an employee who obviously didn't respect you?

It was a question I never got around to asking my supervisor outright. I was mostly just happy the awkwardness was over.

But it's a question worth exploring.

Addressing awkwardness

"I can almost guarantee is that there will be awkward moments as you transition from team member to team leader," said Liane Davey, cofounder of 3COze Inc., and author of "You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done."

In an article for Harvard Business Review, Davey detailed three things managers of former peers need to keep in mind when moving forward:

• Planning a meeting with team members individually
• Organizing a group planning session
• Holding intervention meetings with team members who are resistant to the new managerial change

"By having your first boss-subordinate conversations individually, you'll be able to personalize the message and be more candid than you can be in a group setting," said Davey. "Listen carefully to the answers and always rephrase and summarize to make sure you're getting the right messages. That will allow them to relax and realize you haven't transformed into a maniacal manager."

Reminding your new charges that you haven't "changed" is probably the most important thing to remember. Not taking care to maintain your authenticity can hurt your credibility among employees, possibly permanently.

Next is the organized group meeting. Davey suggests, "If possible, try to make it a special format; ideally longer than normal and in a unique setting such as a conference center outside of town or a room in your office with couches instead of tables. If you can spend an afternoon and then go out socially after, it works even better."

As far as challenges to one's authority by resentful employees, there are ways to handle the conflict. Most challenges have to be met "swiftly and firmly," before issues bubble over.

Recontracting, restructuring

In one hypothetical example by Forbes, an employee named "Peter" was promoted over his co-workers.

Peter's appointment as president "was made difficult by Sarah, who was both a peer and a competitor. She had different views on how to lead the division and was disappointed that she didn't get the job, for which she thought she was more qualified. So their relationship needed to change even more than others, both intellectually and emotionally. This required Peter to spend considerable time with Sarah talking through their concerns.

"As it turned out, Sarah worked very hard initially to support and help Peter in his new role — but after a few months concluded that she could not report to someone whom she felt was less qualified, and took a package to leave."

Unfortunately, as this example shows, sometimes a change in management may lead to subsequent restructuring of job positions and duties.

Rapid recontracting requires the new manager to re-establish his or her relationship with the new employees. On the other hand, restructuring occurs when new workers have to be brought in, and sometimes it becomes necessary to replace employees who have been unable to adapt to the transition.

In the end, it's important that managers are understanding and aware that it will take time for former peers to grow accustomed to authority shifts. They should maintain open channels of communication by being relatable, while also firmly establishing the boundaries of their new role.

It can be a tightrope to walk, but the awkwardness won't last forever.