If you’re in a leadership role at your company, you may find yourself struggling with how to manage people who are older than you or have more experience than you. But with the right mindset and attitude, you may find that your older staff members will quickly become the best members of your team and give you the most beneficial management experiences. And if you’re able to develop positive professional and casual relationships, you may find that you stay in touch with these people even after they’ve retired or moved into assisted living communities.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for effectively managing staff from an older generation.
Overcome Imposter Syndrome
The very first thing you have to focus on as a young manager is overcoming any feelings you have of imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome, which consists of feeling like you’re not qualified or worthy of the success or position you’ve achieved, can plague anyone of any age. But if you want to be effective at your job, you have to learn how to overcome these feelings. And the best way to do this is to try to be both confident in your abilities yet humble enough to ask for help or guidance when you need it. If you can find a way to do this, you’ll find that you’re able to quickly diminish the imposter feelings you may have had in the past.
Lead By Example With Respect
Now that you feel confident in your abilities to lead people of all ages on your team, you can now focus your attention on creating solid relationships with those of an older generation.
One of the best ways to do this is to always conduct your interactions with respect. And what often can help communicate respect from all members of your team for older generations is to be the best example of this yourself. So when an older team member has an idea for the team or a new approach to something, make sure you validate them by respecting their experience.
Become Goal-Focused
Something that many managers might find challenging about working with people from different generations, especially older generations, is that they complete tasks in a different way than you might be used to. However, this isn’t going to really be an issue as long as the work gets done properly. So rather than focusing on the process of completing work tasks, you can become a better manager by focusing more on the results of the tasks and the goals you’re meeting as a team.
If you’re wanting to become a more effective manager of the older members of your team, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how to improve in this area.
