How to Lead People Older and More Experienced Than You
<p>“Who does this kid think he is?” His voice boomed through the closed office door with no effort made to hide his indignance — from anyone within a square mile. The frustrated 40-something employee was complaining about me, the new and bewildered 20-something “boss.”</p>
<p>I’d made the mistake of over-compensating for my lack of experience by becoming a bull-in-a-china-shop on the same day I was given a leadership role. I was going to lead that team my way, and now! I was making decisions left and right and implementing them without delay.</p>
<p>Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad approach. Decisiveness in a leader <em>is</em> a good thing, but only if there’s <em>some </em>wisdom behind it. And in my case, there wasn’t.</p>
<p>But that was 20 years ago. I’m the 40-something now who’s learned how to lead since then in various military, corporate, volunteer, and government settings.</p>
<p>Today, 4 in 10 U.S. employees work for a younger boss <a href="https://www.careerbuilder.com/advice/generational-differences-in-the-workplace" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">according to a Harris Interactive survey</a>, so 40% of the entire workforce has the potential to work for a less experienced (in everything) 20-something like I once was.</p>
<p>Here are a few things you can keep in mind when leading older and more experienced employees.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/small-business-strong/how-to-lead-people-older-and-more-experienced-than-you-a16a564b11b2"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>