We know, we know. “Millennial” is a bad word in corporate America.
Many times when the word that categorizes people born between 1981-1996 is brought up in the workplace, it's met with eye rolls, sighs, and phrases like “spoiled and entitled.” Though some of that may be true (and can be said about all age groups) millennials are also extremely ambitious, creative, and make up the largest age group in the workplace right now.
With the surge of millennials in the workplace, naturally, there's also an increase of millennials in managerial positions—oftentimes creating an uncomfortable manager/subordinate relationship where leaders are younger than their teams. So how do you combat the feeling that you’re not “respecting your elders” when you’re exercising your managerial duties?
These tips below should help:
Throw away all preconceived notions
Don’t form judgments about how you assume your relationship with your employee will be, just because you're in different age demographics. Also, don’t assume that you all will not have any commonalities.
I’m a 35-year-old African-American female that will go see Hall & Oates perform before I go see Kanye (if you don’t know about Yacht Rock, you’re missing out on life). There are also some middle-aged white males that know more hip-hop songs than I do. Don’t let your stereotypes prevent you from discovering if there are commonalities between you and your team.
Even if there aren't any right off the bat, take the time to learn about what their interests are and what they're passionate about. Being able to foster and build relationships, no matter the obstacle, is a sign of a great leader.
Don’t be a bull in a china shop
As a new manager, the pressure is on to succeed immediately. As a millennial manager overseeing older employees, it can seem like that pressure is magnified by a thousand.
Don’t let your desire to prove yourself or to get “quick wins” cause you to make rushed decisions without thinking things through. Take a step back to survey the land and understand why and how things are done before making changes. Engage with some of your more seasoned employees to get historical information and ask for their input on if they feel any changes are necessary.
If you feel changes to how things have been previously handled are necessary, explain your rationale. This will show your transparency and openness as a manager and also show your employees that you don’t want to come in and just start bulldozing for no reason. Show them there is a method to your madness.
Understand differences in communication styles
Just like everyone has different love languages, everyone has different communication styles and preferences for how they like to communicate in the workplace. Take the time to discover what communication style works best for the members of your team, and try to tailor your interaction with each individual to accommodate.
Some millennials may adhere to the “no news is good news” school of communication, where they feel as though if there are getting no feedback, then they must be doing a good job. Perhaps a tag on the company’s social media or intranet site may be sufficient acknowledgment for a job well done for younger employees, whereas older employees may prefer traditional methods of communication—you know, the type where two people share a space and converse with one another in person. Maybe they appreciate more consistent feedback on how they are doing, rather than “assuming” their level of performance is OK solely because they haven’t heard otherwise.
Whatever your employee’s communication style is, making the effort to understand and accommodate them shows that you value them as a member of your team—not to mention, it exemplifies your level of professionalism and maturity.
Don’t just be a Manager; Be a Leader
Leaders develop and inspire. Managers oversee and control.
Engage with your employees to find out what their strengths are and what their future career goals are. Utilize the knowledge and expertise they have from working in the industry longer than you have, to help set and achieve organizational goals for the team. Task them with stretch assignments that will help them showcase some of their leadership skills (i.e, taking on special projects or acting as the lead on a large project).
This will show your employees that you recognize and value the years of experience and historical knowledge they bring to the team and you are invested in their career growth, not just being a taskmaster.
Be Confident In Yourself
Yes, it is not often that someone in their mid-20s/early 30s is in a manager or director position, but guess what? You've earned it. You’ve put in the work, you’ve proven to the powers that be that you are smart enough and capable enough to do the job, so don’t let impostor syndrome creep in and have you think otherwise just because you are a few years younger than the team you are managing.
Don’t second guess your decisions. Don’t start off statements with self-defeating phrases like “I know I haven’t been around that long but….” Or “I’m not sure if this is a good idea, but….” If you don’t have confidence in yourself as a manager, who will? You’ve got the receipts to prove you're in the role that you're supposed to be in, so act like it.
