Millennial Bosses: How To Manage Employees Who Are Twice Your Age

The Millennial generation has really shaken up the workplace. When it comes to developing their careers; they’ve simply refused to settle — even in the midst of a recession era. Sure, their lofty ambitions may sometimes come across as selfish or self-entitled, but Millennials know what they’re doing — which is why many of these ambitious professionals are managing employees who have been working for longer than some Millennials have been breathing.

And it’s not surprising. In 2035, the number of people in the US over the age of 65 will have increased by 66%. So, if you’re a Millennial manager, you’re bound to find yourself managing an older employee at some stage.

But, it’s a delicate situation; managing someone who is your senior in every other avenue of life apart form in the office. And there’s a degree of mutual respect that should be given yet is often overlooked. Millennials may know everything there is to know about tech — but the older generation wins out on knowing everything there is to know about life.

So, what do you do if you find yourself in a managerial position with 2 or 3 direct reports who are twice your age (at least)? Well, you start by keeping an open mind and recognizing that these invaluable employees have an awful lot to offer your business.

Talk To Them

Maybe you feel that you can’t relate to your older employees — and that’s okay — but it doesn’t mean that you should avoid talking to them at all costs! Think about it; evaluating their work, giving feedback, offering advice — it’d make any new manager feel hesitant. But I bet that once you sit down and have a chat, you’ll find much more in common than you thought, and you might even get some good advice in the process.

Talking to your older employees to hugely important because it’ll help you develop a personal connection with each employee and ensure that you have enough information to manage and develop their roles going forward. Once you’ve identified their key motivations, concerns, and goals within in the workplace, you’ll be a much more effective (and likeable) manager.

Adapt How You Communicate

Millennials are all about instant feedback and being kept in the loop 24/7. They want to know the why’s, the how’s, the when’s and the where’s behind every single task they take on. But Baby Boomers and the later stage Gen X employees don’t need any of that; they’re used to simply being told what to do and getting it done.

The main thing to keep in mind is that older employees aren’t interested in receiving tons of praise (it’s great, but they don’t need it), whereas that praise and sense of inclusion is a huge motivating factor for Millennial employees. If you start faffing around with unproductive 1 hour long meetings that are all about the ‘feel goods’ and less about getting work done, your Baby Boomer employees are going to get fed up. So you might want to find a middle ground.

Don’t Be A Know-It-All

You don’t know it all, not really. Sure you might have some fancy schmancy diploma or degree, but there’s still a lot that you can learn from the older generation.

One of the biggest mistakes you’ll ever make — both as a manager and as a human being — is refusing to learn from other people.

Many of your older employees will likely have been with your company or working in your industry for many years, which means that they know all of the ins and outs of how the business runs, and they could be incredibly useful when given the chance to contribute. So ask questions, be open, let your guard down, and don’t let your ego get in the way of your excellence.

Don’t Assume They Know It All

They don’t, not really (see where I’m going with this). Just because these employees have been with the company for years, it doesn’t mean that they know everything. In fact, they might be too embarrassed to admit that they’re inexperienced in some areas of the job, which is where you come in. This goes back to communicating with your employees; you need to find out what their strengths are, identify their weakness, and create a plan to get them to where they need to be.

A great way to do this is simply by spending an hour or so with them ‘on the job’ and assessing their workflow to find any gaps that you could help them to brush up on. Of course, you’ll have to address this pretty tactfully — i.e. don’t turn it into a micro management session. What you could do, is schedule a ‘mutual learning’ session, where they show you how to do something you’re not 100% on in return. This way, your employees won’t feel targeted or like you’re checking up on them.

If you don’t want to be directly involved, you could organize cross team training which will allow your younger employees to learn from their older counterparts and vice versa. This will really help to build on your all-inclusive, multi-generational, team culture!

Don’t Let Them Off Easy Because You’re Scared

When you get your new management job, you might feel a bit intimidated by the older members on your team, but it’s important not to let that affect your management style. Allowing team members to slack off, just because you’re too scared to confront them, isn’t going to do your business any favours.

Many employees tend to work autonomously and that’s great, but you need to ensure that your older employees know that they can readily approach you when they encounter a problem. If you take an extremely hands off approach, they may not feel that way, and you’ll end up in a messy situation sooner rather than later. You won’t gain their respect by letting things slide and it’s that respect that’ll make you a successful manager.

Learn How To Be A Manager

You don’t just wake up one day with all of the skills required to be an effective leader. You have to learn those skills and you have to acknowledge that you need to learn them!

Find a mentor; read books; watch Ted talks — do whatever it takes to brush up on your people skills and empower yourself to empower your employees. By showing that commitment and dedication to your team, you’ll become an experienced and inspiring manager who can work with anyone sitting in front of you — whether they’re 18 or 65.

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