Been promoted at work? Great! Now try to remember who your friends were...

The upsides of a promotion are obvious: higher salary, 'enhanced' job title, bigger office (or a window, at least). But the emotional side of promotion - leaving aside the fact you're almost certainly expected to work harder - can be more challenging.

Perhaps less so if you're moving to a new and more important job elsewhere; you wouldn't be the first person to go in for a little 'reinvention' with new colleagues. (New haircut, different 'look', applying some of those millennial management techniques and working practices you've picked up.)

But what happens when you're promoted from within - and suddenly find yourself leading a team that includes former co-workers? Much, much tougher - especially when they've become friends.

Resentment can creep in, almost unavoidably – especially if they went for the job, too. Even if you act as if nothing's changed (rather than making like Jenson Button and spraying the entire office with a mist of Perrier-Jouet), your work-world has shifted on its axis - and you're unlikely to be sitting round in a gang moaning about your managers, from here on in. Because you might be one of them.

(And even if you're not, it's probably not a good look to continue to bemoan the 'failings' of your shared employer with your former colleagues. That definitely wasn't why you got promoted.)

Confront the elephant in the room (that's you)

How do you make sure a promotion doesn't affect your working relationships?

So: what to do?

Walking in their shoes is probably a good place to start. (While flaunting the Louboutins you bought with your first fatter pay cheque definitely isn't.) Think about how you'd like to be treated if you'd been left behind on the 'ladder' - and let that shape your management style. But you need to be completely consistent. It's downright confusing for colleagues if you're larking around one day, slipping back into your matey role - and coming down like a ton of bricks the next. A willingness to listen is almost certainly key (I'm a big fan of getting everyone round an open table and allowing them to throw ideas into the mix - and besides, in this fast-moving world, what has anyone got to lose by doing that?) Listening shows respect, and that's what most of us want at work, whatever our position.

Often, your colleagues will be experiencing a touch of fear. After all, you know all about the time they called in sick to stay home and watch the entire box set of Breaking Bad. And they know you know. That’s why it’s best to treat this moment as a clean slate, on both sides. (After all, if they're a really close friend, they probably know about any skeletons you may have lurking in your closet, too.)

And how to handle the green-eyed monster? If a colleague appears jealous of your promotion, it can become the elephant in the room, unless you confront it. Sweep it under the carpet, and it'll fester - so bite the bullet. Take a deep breath and, over a coffee, let she, or he, know that you'd probably have felt envious if the roles were reversed. Try to find out from their perspective what would make it easier to work together. The less flash you are about your success, the less envy you'll encounter. So by all means enjoy the view from the corner office, but have the sense not to bang on about it to colleagues who are still staring at cubicle walls.

Remember who your friends were

It's important to carry on good relations with your colleagues and avoid awkwardness

Don't cut yourself off from friendships altogether, though. That'll get you a reputation for having ideas above your station and using people to climb the ladder. There’s no reason not to still enjoy some office bonding time - so if you all like to rehash the latest instalment of Orange Is The New Black over a cuppa, there's no reason not to keep joining in.

And what about out-of-hours socialising? It is an unavoidable fact: getting slaughtered with the gang on tequila slammers really probably is something best consigned to the history books. But hey, you wanted the job. There have to be some trade-offs. On the other hand, organising an outing you know they'll enjoy (and as a former co-worker, you know better than any manager coming in from outside what that might be) is almost always appreciated.

Encourage everyone to share questions and concerns - and be upfront: 'Hey, guys, this is a weird situation for all of us. And it might take a little time for us all to figure it out - including me.' Show them that you're still human - and haven't immediately morphed into Sir Alan Sugar, overnight.

Have you had to manage friends at work, or been managed by someone you used to work with? Was it awkward? Share your experiences with Telegraph Wonder Women and Josephine Fairley on Twitter.