It’s not uncommon, weird, or counterproductive when there is a team of two and one is the other’s direct report. The problems arise when the manager treats the

It’s not uncommon, weird, or counterproductive when there is a team of two and one is the other’s direct report. The problems arise when the manager treats the situation with more hierarchy than the situation warrants. Think about it like if a small company’s accounting department grows to need two people. One position being above the other in the org chart is fine, but don’t expect much stratification in the roles. They’re basically splitting the work but one person is also representing/responsible for the department to the rest of the company. Accounting is an easy example, because it's pretty clearly an isolated discipline. It's also possible that there is specialization that needs a 1-over-1 managerial relationship elsewhere in org chart. But it runs more risk of being a ladder-climber taking their first step and cocking it up by acting like there is a non-trivial amount of stratification between them and their report.