Dealing with a younger manger

Few days ago I read an interesting article (see here) on Chicago Tribune about the challenge of having a young manager, something I have experienced too.

A CareerBuilder survey found out that 16 percent of employees between 25-34 (my group) said they find difficult to be managed by a boss younger than them. The main identified problems were: the manager acts as he knows everything (more than more experienced employees), he doesn’t earn the position, he favors younger workers and does not provide directions.

In my experience I have met basically two bad categories of “younger managers”. The first one concerns managers not self-confident because to their inexperience. This factor leads them to take any decision in strict accordance to the company procedures showing little flexibility and therefore penalizing employees who are very committed to the company and expect something in exchange by their manager.

The second category entails instead a different type of personality. It is the case of the arrogant manager who pretends to know his job very well and gives little trusts to his colleagues. He loves to centralize decisions and whenever a problem arises he tries to put the blame on the others. He prefers to work with younger people who are generally easier to manage instead of dealing with employees with more experience.

According to Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of human resources at CareerBuilder ,“younger and older workers both need to recognize the value that each group brings to the table. By looking past their differences and focusing on their strengths, workers of any age can mutually benefit from those around them, creating a more cohesive workplace”.

I totally agree with Mrs Haefner and in my opinion the keys to success between a worker and his younger manger are communication and mutual respect: understanding each other, the different points of view and the different experience.

The article also gives some tips on how to manage generational differences at work: “Understand others' point of view, adapt your communication and keep an open mind”.

I think that the above are good starting points for a good professional relation but I would add some other suggestions. First of all I think it is fundamental to share the department goals, involving older employees in some decisions and sharing some power with them so that the person feel valued. Furthermore, it is important to appreciate the older colleague’s experience and learn from it; sometimes ask for some advice as the older person can have a different and maybe better perception of the situation.

It is also fundamental knowing people's skills and ability in order to employ them in the best way for the company's interest. For example if an older worker could not be very comfortable with using new technological tools, he/she can either get extra training to better perform or be employed on tasks that don't require intensive use of these tools.

The bigger is the generational gap the higher is the challenge of working with older colleagues. The young manager has to be the group leader but at the same time humble enough to accept advice from more experienced employees who have already faced most of the common problems.