By Jim Finkelstein (Boomer), President, CEO and Simone Van Cleve (Millennial), FutureSense, Inc.
As the workforce becomes a generational mash-up, we are forced to come face-to-face with some strange realities. With the majority of workers now retiring later in life and others returning to the workplace after temporary hiatus, conventional leadership roles often are reversed, and we are taken outside of our comfort zones. Unless you’re bossy by nature, telling people what to do is always a little awkward—but it is infinitely trickier when you’re giving direction to your parents. Okay, maybe they aren’t actually your parents, but they’re about the same age.
Let’s face it: We’re not used to supervising our elders. So what happens when the parent-child relationship is turned on its proverbial head? Let’s take a look at the consequences of such a reversal.
Charlotte is a 32-year-old store manager at a high-end clothing boutique. She has been with the company for five years and has worked her way up the chain of command. In her current position, she supervises five employees. She assigns their shifts, leads team meetings, and conducts monthly performance reviews. Since Charlotte became manager, the people who report to her have all been between the ages of 20 and 30. She is their superior in both age and employment.
Recently, one of the store’s employees quit, and Charlotte was put in charge of hiring a replacement. After dozens of interviews, she and the store owner agreed that the best candidate was Alice, a 55-year-old woman with 10 years of experience in retail. She stopped working when her children were born, but when they both left for college she decided to go back to work to make some extra money.
Alice was clearly the right person for the job, but Charlotte felt uncomfortable with the idea of supervising and managing a woman the same age as her mother. How could she give orders to someone older and more experienced?
Alice’s first week of work went pretty smoothly, but Charlotte found herself treating Alice differently than the younger employees whom she supervised. She avoided correcting small mistakes or providing constructive criticism for fear of insulting Alice. In Charlotte’s eyes, Alice was a peer of her mother’s—and you don’t go giving orders to your mom or her friends. And although it might have been a figment of Charlotte’s imagination, she thought she detected a slight degree of resentment from Alice.
If you ever find yourself in Charlotte’s position, how will you provide necessary feedback without appearing condescending? You want your older workers to know that you respect their experience while still asserting your leadership position. Keep these tips in mind…
As the workforce becomes a generational mash-up, we are forced to come face-to-face with some strange realities. With the majority of workers now retiring later in life and others returning to the workplace after temporary hiatus, conventional leadership roles often are reversed, and we are taken outside of our comfort zones. Unless you’re bossy by nature, telling people what to do is always a little awkward—but it is infinitely trickier when you’re giving direction to your parents. Okay, maybe they aren’t actually your parents, but they’re about the same age.
Let’s face it: We’re not used to supervising our elders. So what happens when the parent-child relationship is turned on its proverbial head? Let’s take a look at the consequences of such a reversal.
Charlotte is a 32-year-old store manager at a high-end clothing boutique. She has been with the company for five years and has worked her way up the chain of command. In her current position, she supervises five employees. She assigns their shifts, leads team meetings, and conducts monthly performance reviews. Since Charlotte became manager, the people who report to her have all been between the ages of 20 and 30. She is their superior in both age and employment.
Recently, one of the store’s employees quit, and Charlotte was put in charge of hiring a replacement. After dozens of interviews, she and the store owner agreed that the best candidate was Alice, a 55-year-old woman with 10 years of experience in retail. She stopped working when her children were born, but when they both left for college she decided to go back to work to make some extra money.
Alice was clearly the right person for the job, but Charlotte felt uncomfortable with the idea of supervising and managing a woman the same age as her mother. How could she give orders to someone older and more experienced?
Alice’s first week of work went pretty smoothly, but Charlotte found herself treating Alice differently than the younger employees whom she supervised. She avoided correcting small mistakes or providing constructive criticism for fear of insulting Alice. In Charlotte’s eyes, Alice was a peer of her mother’s—and you don’t go giving orders to your mom or her friends. And although it might have been a figment of Charlotte’s imagination, she thought she detected a slight degree of resentment from Alice.
If you ever find yourself in Charlotte’s position, how will you provide necessary feedback without appearing condescending? You want your older workers to know that you respect their experience while still asserting your leadership position. Keep these tips in mind…
- Make it a habit to ask for input from your senior employees. You never want to come across as a know-it-all, especially when someone working beneath you may actually be more knowledgeable than you. Consulting your employees—particularly ones older than you—before you make major decisions lets workers know that you value their advice and are open to ideas other than your own. Plus, there is a lot to be learned from seasoned veterans; use their knowledge to your professional advantage. In Charlotte’s case, this could mean asking Alice what worked well in her previous sales positions. How did her former manager ensure that sales quotas were met, and what valuable tips can Alice share with the rest of the team? These kinds of questions strengthen professional relationships and build mutual respect.
- Remember that you are in charge, regardless of your age. You earned your current position because you have proven that you are capable of handling a managerial role—don’t question your own authority. Show confidence in your leadership abilities. Even employees who are older than you should be aware that they report to you. They aren’t your parents; you can actually tell them what to do. Don’t let this power go to your head, but do remember that it is your job to supervise and manage. In failing to address Alice’s mistakes, Charlotte is not doing herself any favors. Although Charlotte is Alice’s junior in age and experience, she is her superior within the workplace.
- Close the generation gap by establishing a team mentality. Regardless of age or other differences among workers, you and all of your employees are working toward a common goal: To satisfy customers and make the company more profitable. At the end of the day, everyone should be aware of this. As a manager, it is your responsibility to promote this mindset. Instead of focusing on differences between yourself and your employees, emphasize the singularity of your purpose in the workplace. In her weekly team meetings, Charlotte should ask her employees to contribute their ideas about goals for the coming month. These goals can range from higher sales quotas to keeping the store more organized, but they should all encourage employees to work together as a team.
With these three points in mind, Charlotte should have no problem managing Alice while also making her feel respected and included amongst her younger colleagues. Although the Cogenerational Workplace™ may present new obstacles for younger managers, they are not insurmountable, and learning how to deal with these challenges can make the company run better than it did before. Look at your older workers as assets. They can teach you a thing or two—just like mom and dad did.
About the Author:
Jim Finkelstein is a student and leader of people in business. With 34+ years of consulting and corporate experience, he has specialized in business and people strategy, motivation and reward, and organizational assessment, development, communications and transformation. Finkelstein has worked for diverse industries, from health care to high tech. He has built programs and provided services to Boards of Directors, senior executives, management and employees. Finkelstein received his MBA in Organization Behavior and Development from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (1976) and a BA in Psychology and Economics from Trinity College in Hartford (1974). His experience includes being a partner in a Big Five firm, a CEO of a professional services firm, a corporate executive for Fortune 500 companies, and an entrepreneur with his current company, FutureSense® Inc. He has experienced business from every possible angle and through every possible change.
Websites: http://www.fusethebook.com, http://www.futuresense.com
Fuse: Making Sense of the New Cogenerational Workplace™ is available for purchase on amazon.com. It will also be available in eBook format.
