When
I first became a department manager at 25 years old, everyone on my staff was
at least 10 years older than me. Thankfully, my parents taught me
as a young boy how to effectively communicate with older people. The
first 15 years of my career I was faced with leading older generations.
How could I earn the respect and get “buy-in” from those who didn’t always
enjoy getting direction from a leader who was (in some cases) as old as their
own children? Managing older generations at work requires patience,
the ability to listen carefully, and the knowledge that you must learn the old
ways of doing things before you can apply your new ideas.
As a young leader – be mindful that
your older colleagues have seen your youthful enthusiasm before.
Older generations in the workplace have typically “heard it all before” and in
many cases may even want you to fail. Additionally – be
prepared for the envy that ensues as many of your older colleagues may feel
threatened by you and / or cheated for not being considered for the leadership
position you are in. This is why young managers must become good
leaders quickly. At times, you may need to throw your authority out
the door: eliminate the hierarchy, become just another member of the
team, and help get things done. Build relationships,
earn trust and allow your leadership to rise organically. In the
end, your ultimate leadership role is to protect your team and get them
recognized in new ways. This is where your youthful creativity must
come into play.
Older generations want you to
respect their ideas and ideals. They want to know that you have
their backs and that you can exercise your influence to get them a voice at the
table while making their jobs much more meaningful and purposeful.
e job is where you are being tested
and evaluated by your older peers. They have a scorecard – and in order
to score high, ask the right questions, work the extra hours, and carefully
evaluate their work and past performance in the organization.
Educate yourself about their journeys. Know who you are
leading and never take for granted that your older colleagues will do what you
say just because you are the boss. It’s not that easy.
In fact, they may make your job more
difficult until you earn their respect; that is, until they believe that you
are qualified to be their leader and are working for the best interests of the team.
The truth is that they have much more influence and power at the beginning of
your tenure than you do. Why? Because they bring with them a history of
organizational relationships that carry more weight and influence.
As you embark upon your role as a
young leader to older colleagues, the following four things are mandatory to
get you started on the right track:
1. Be
an Active Listener and Learner
Since you are still learning to be a leader – be
an active listener and learn from your older peers. Authority must
be earned and thus it is important that you keenly observe how your older
colleagues operate. Identify their strengths, personality traits and
areas that could use refinement. Listen to the types of
questions they ask in meetings. Do they take notes? Is
their follow-up good? Always be mindful of what you can specifically
learn from each member of the team. Be certain to acknowledge
the lessons learned from your older colleagues by applying what they have
taught you. Additionally, make sure that you identify the areas for
improvement where your input can make an immediate difference in their performance.
2. Get to
Know Them on a Personal Level
Though it may be difficult in
certain workplace cultures, as a young leader you must invest your time to get
to know the members of your team on a personal level. For
example, I remember when I inherited a new department as part of my
management responsibilities, when I was just 26 years old. My ten
new staff members (teammates) were much older, married and had children who
ranged between the ages of 15 – 17 years old. I dedicated three
months to make a genuine effort to get to know them
personally. As such, I began to take them out to dinner,
attended their children’s high school basketball games and – in one instance –
even attended a counseling session with one of the kid’s teachers. When I
inherited this group of older colleagues, I learned that they had worked for a
younger leader in the past who never gave them the time of day, nor did they
seem to care about what mattered most to them – their families.
These were loyal company employees who were grateful for their jobs, but they
didn’t respect the senior leadership team.
For them, they initially thought I
was going to be another young know-it-all leader – that based on their past
experiences was going to be a difficult situation to handle. Therefore, I
needed to “step up my game” and thus made a serious
investment/commitment. I did this not only for the company,
but more so as a means to understand them as people and as parents. If
their families mattered most to them, I had to get to know what that meant from
their perspective so that I could learn how to most effectively and
authentically lead them and help them to be more successful than ever before.
Getting to know your team breaks
down potential barriers and also allows your older colleagues to get to know
you. Be transparent and show them who you really
are. It works both ways and remember that this will make them
curious about who you are and what matters to you. Just be yourself
and have an open door policy. Don’t exercise the authority of your title
unless it is absolutely required. Keep it simple; create an environment
that is engaging, warm and non-threatening.
3. Blend Old
and New Ways (Embrace Differences)
Make the transition of thought
easier for your older colleagues to accept. Be strategic in
blending your new ways of thinking with their current ways. Remember that
your job is to help make them more successful and this requires you to help
them continuously learn and grow. Be a good leader, not an
entitlement hound. Be respectful of how they think and get
creative in helping the older generations understand why your new ways of
thinking make sense. Take your time, give them examples – learn how
to earn buy-in.
Traditions matter to the older
generations. Be mindful of this not just for your older
colleagues, but for the good of the organization you are serving. I
remember how eager I was to introduce new ideas and reinvent the older ways of
thinking. I failed many times at first because I didn’t pay enough
attention to the historical dynamics that existed within the organization and
between its people. I wasn’t mindful enough of the traditions
that were embedded in the company’s culture and how people applied them to
their work.
4.
Earn Respect by Being Less Authoritative
Respect takes time to earn and
should not be forced. Don’t demand or command. Become
part of the team. Take responsibility for your actions and learn to hold yourself accountable. Being
the new young boss does not grant you special
privileges. As a young executive, I never abused my
power. In fact, my staff worked with my personal assistant more than I
did. I wanted to ensure that any “perceived” privileges that I had
were shared with the team.
It’s important that your old
colleagues see that you are being respectful within your role. They
want to know that your intentions are pure, honest and true. Learn to
care more about your team and less about your power.
As a young leader, embrace
generational differences and be a good student. Older
generations have the wisdom that younger generations are still
acquiring. Care about your duty, be grateful for the opportunity
and set-forth a foundation based on trust, teamwork, integrity and
transparency.
As Jon Gray, Vice President, North
America of HomeAway,
Inc. said when he shared his thoughts about managing
people who are older than you: “Managers should legitimately care about each
person he or she manages. If you invest your time, effort, and energy in
helping people, they will be able to develop personally and professionally.
You’ll also be tuned in to their goals and aspirations. As a result, employees
are happier and better at their jobs.”
And: “Just because you’re taught to
avoid emotional decisions on the job doesn’t mean you can’t have an emotional
connection with people in the office. After all, you’re human.”
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