Sunday, July 3, 2011

Tips for leading older employees


A trader pauses to close his eyes as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the final minutes of the trading session in New York, October 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Leading without the authority of decades toiling in the trenches, and managing employees ten or twenty years older than yourself, can be a real challenge, says Harvard Business Review.
The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.
"Seniority no longer reigns in today's organizations. In fact, it's not uncommon to manage people 10 or 20 years older than you. Leading is hard enough when you have experience on your side.
Here are three ways to make sure your age doesn't betray you:
1. Be confident. Start strong. Don't qualify your statements or ideas. Speak with conviction and assume that your ideas are good ones.
2. Be open-minded. Balance your poise with an open mind. Put your proposals out there and then solicit opinions and ideas. Give your colleagues a voice.
3. Ask for feedback regularly. Make sure people know you care about continuous improvement. They'll be more likely to give you useful feedback about your performance."
-Today's management tip was adapted from "Leading Older Employees" by Jodi Glickman.

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