7 Tips for Working for a Younger Boss

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I will turn 60 in three weeks. I think the advice you offered in this article is very timely and hits the nail right on the head. I printed it for me to use as I interact with my younger manager. I like working with him and this will help me to interact better. Thank you for sharing this information.

Bill Brander of PA 8:16AM March 05, 2010

It is also true that when you are older and the boss that you use the same criteria as a model when working with a younger generation. Regardless of age people want to be valued.

Terry Powell of IN 2:08PM March 04, 2010

If you are one of the good bosses, then no one will have any need to be fighting against you. My comment about fighting back covertly is reserved for bad bosses.
You see, just changing jobs to get away from a problem supervisor is not such an easy thing for a fifty-something person to do. And they shouldn't have to. So blowing a bad boss out of the water may be the only avenue for some folks. But, like I said, it's a tactic to be used only against bad bosses, and what it means is "expose the badness" of the bad boss up the line until it reaches someone with sense.
Something you ought to think about, though, from your comment below. Unless you're the owner, not just a manager, you don't actually have people "in your employ". Choice of words always matters too.

Muser of NM 11:14PM March 02, 2010

I am a Gen Xer and have worked for other Gen Xers and boomers. I also manage both, as well as Gen Yers.
Some younger managers believe they are good managers already because they have read the right books or attended the right seminars. There is NO substitute for the experience of time, and as a manager, I am the first to admit that there are situations that I have yet to encounter.
We "younger" managers have to stop trying to prove how much we know and not try to micromanage our older workforce.

Mariah Newberry of FL 4:32PM March 02, 2010

"...you can change jobs or you can fight back covertly until smarty-pants gets his or her head on straight."...
I have a bit of an issue with the later part of this statement. As a Gen xer and a Manager with 50 somethings in my employ, I can tell you that regardless of age if someone is gong to resort to anything less than open communication they will not be employed by me. This sort of subtrafuge is the last thing I want when there is a job that needs done.
What exactly does fight back covertly mean? Spreading gossip, working half a**ed to make him look bad, or jump him in the parking lot?

Joseph Volpe of NC 10:24AM March 02, 2010

I was appointed to be the controller of a manufacturing company and the coincident supervisor of seven women in an accounting department, some old enough to be my mother. I spent two decades in that position being courteous to and respectful of those people's (some of whom stayed the whole time) life experience which exceeded by own.
You would now suggest we older folks should subordinate ourselves to some young smart-aleck who would not do likewise because he or she is excused from both wisdom and kindness because he or she is a "gen-X something or other"?
There are good bosses and bad bosses. Age is not the point. Attitude is. If your young boss is a bad one, you can change jobs or you can fight back covertly until smarty-pants gets his or her head on straight. There are lots of ways to do it.

Muser of NM 11:12PM March 01, 2010

In my coaching practice, I often hear complaints from job seekers over 50 regarding not being considered for a full-time position by a Gen Xer.
“I was fully qualified and it makes no sense” is the most common complaint. “They simply don’t know how to hire” is another one. “They told me that I was overqualified.” Other comments cannot be repeated.
To put some perspective on this phenomenon, here are some observations I have made, both as a coach and an executive recruiter:
1. Thirty-somethings don’t want to hire their parents. Boomers have hired people from their own age demographic or their juniors for years. Would you have hired your dad or mom to work directly for you?
2. Boomers also are considered a “flight risk” once the economy turns around. They probably will take a better job. They will be viewed as someone who just used the company as a “half way house”. And guess what? They are a flight risk.
3. Boomers want to be “led” and not managed. In my coaching practice as well as my past recruiting experience, most thirty-something managers look for someone they can “manage.” In coaching sessions with young managers, I observed that their leadership skills typically lag behind their management skills. Therefore this is clearly not a fit.
4. I also believe that the age anti-discrimination laws in this country have backfired. If you hire someone for full-time work over 50, they can be hard to get rid of, even in an “at will” state like California. So why hire them in the first place?
5. There are succession plans in place in many organizations. They are grooming younger managers for top slots.
Yet, I have found that most young managers need help and guidance. They appreciate being mentored, coached, or advised. They recognize the need, but look at it as a temporary or project-based opportunity. Young managers have hired me, for example, for three-month engagements and I am a “sixty something” boomer.
Your working relationship will most likely be either part- time or a short-term contract. I found this arrangement to be more comfortable between generations because there is a beginning and an end. And a younger manager would have to be very shortsighted not to explore a working relationship with someone more experienced. You have a wealth of experience, and you can make a difference in their lives and careers.
If they don’t want your expertise, then there are plenty of others who do.

Randy Block of CA 1:16PM March 01, 2010