Starting to feel your youth? Then you could be among the rapidly growing number of younger managers in the industry who are at risk of prejudice or bitterness from older members of the workforce and manager colleagues. Sarah Dowding offers tips on survival
They're not too young to know
Maybe I am getting older but business leaders seem to be getting younger. The dot.com entrepreneurs are a perfect example. Some of them are still of school and university age and have already made their first million (or three).
Then at the other end of the scale there are growing complaints by those over the age of 40, who feel they are being discriminated against. So is this the right time to be young?
Well, yes and no. Although there seem to have been many changes, in reality business still delivers goods and services as before.
Traditional business culture remains, along with the formal hierarchy. Even if young managers have become more commonplace at senior level, they still have to contend with formidable older colleagues, who still make up the vast majority of most boardrooms. Whizkids are climbing the ladder faster than ever but face stiff competition on the very top rungs from older executives.
Even in typically "young" industries such as IT and PR, it is easy for newly promoted executives to feel their youth. Shattering the glass ceiling opens up new problems. One may get the feeling older managers are looking at you thinking, "who is this kid?" and may prefer to work with someone more senior.
But if you have been promoted fast, just remember you are there on merit. Have enough confidence in yourself to realise that you are there because of your abilities and that your employers believe you can do the job.
Examine yourself, your own strengths and how you add value, suggests Keith Milmer, the course programme director at Ashridge Management College. He goes on to say, "I encourage participants to recognise what they have been appointed for. Otherwise you find they can be easily intimidated by more mature individuals who have a wealth of experience. It is important that the business knows that you are concerned about the quality of your work and that, ultimately, you share the same desires."
It is very important for young managers to have support from above. But bosses don't work in isolation and it is in the staff's interest to support them. Often they are demanding only because they are under pressure themselves.
Older subordinates, who may be bitter towards work in general and, in particular, to the youngsters promoted ahead of them pose another problem for young managers. "It is very easy for young people to feel intimidated by someone in their forties or fifties who is just not performing and shows nothing but arrogance and does not appear to respect your position," says Milmer.
The best way to deal with problems such as these is to respect the experience of the individuals and understand their goals. This will then enable you, as their superior, to make demands of a person that fit in with their objectives and ways of thinking.
So the young don't have it all their way. Older people still continue to dominate the boardroom and the senior levels of corporate power. However, there is increasing evidence that the new technology start-ups are beginning to have an effect on business culture.
Not all young entrepreneurs will fail and their attitudes and casual dress are beginning to exert an influence, leading to greater informality in business dealings.
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