Your Boss is Younger?

Millennials having such a larger presence in the workforce, and of course in leadership and management roles, the dynamics are going to change. Interview questions are adjusting to the incoming Millennials now in supervisory positions. The old model of working your way up to a Gold Watch and Pension is largely a thing of an era long gone.

Shifting the frames of reference can be tricky in the first place, largely because work experience is vastly different. Recognize also that work motivators, reward motivators, time motivators, and social references are so vastly different.

So how should we approach this shift in sharing authority and respect?

For starters, ask permission to share ideas. Older people sometimes assume that their thoughts and their experiences and their beliefs are more important than younger people. The “older but wiser” construct, whether it's done consciously or unconsciously, isn't always welcomed or appreciated in the vein they intended - in fact, it often destroys the opportunity to build trust.

You know this - when we're judgy to other people, they're going to be judgy back to us. Take a few minutes to consider your existing bias (because we ALL have them!) and then make sure you leverage your experience in a way that is helpful to your team. You have the opportunity to see both the big picture as well as the potential pitfalls your new boss is trying to navigate. When you embrace your own issues and look for opportunities to improve, you have re-joined the team mentality toward progress.

Our younger workforce has grown up with rapid change.

Their agility and ability to change is oftentimes quicker, could you help with historical or relation-based data that would help shorten their success curve? Identify your goal for sharing your ideas. Is what is needed a change process or policy improvement, communication channels need some help, should you look at evaluate efficiencies in work-flows? Something as simple as, “I have an idea around this (needed change), can I share that with you?” may be all it takes.

Avoid making broad assumptions about your younger boss.

You're coming to a conclusion about something that that person may do or may not do. Just because your boss is younger doesn't mean they're partiers and always surfing social media. And if you don't take your supervisor seriously, regardless of age, that's going to be a problem for you. Frame your communications with the understanding that ultimately your boss will answer for whatever is decided, so a partner-approach may prevent unnecessary drama.

Finally, keep it professional.

One danger zone for older workers, when they find themselves working for a younger millennial boss, is that they move into “parent” role. Don't do that, you run the risk they will only see you in that light and it could hurt your career. You definitely don't want to be the one that is giving the advice, getting personal beyond that professional level. Just treat them the way you would an older boss or peer.

“Authority may be appointed but trust builds when we are consistently showing up and choosing kindness and respect.” - Dr. Maria Church

At the end of the day, we want to support our bosses because it strengthens our team and when our team is successful, our organization is successful.

Wishing you successful interactions,

Maria

Early on in my corporate career, colleagues advised me to learn golf, which they claimed as a great way to network, bond with clients, and create deals. I learned the sport, but I didn’t enjoy the game as much as other people did.

At one of our corporate retreats, my boss and colleagues couldn’t wait to get out on the course with some of the top executive staff. I was a bit confused by this because I knew my boss didn’t really like or get along with this group of people.

I asked him about it and he said that on the golf course, unless you are a pro, there is no pretense; all are on equal footing and all are hitting poorly. The golf experience allowed them to bring down their guards and share the misery of their poor shots. Like golf, laughter allows us to connect with one another, letting our guards down, sans the misery of poor golf shots.Laughter enhances communication by letting our shields down and showing that we are human.

The model of professionalism for too long has instructed us to be super-human. We learned how to work beyond what is humanly possible, denying our natural rhythm for balance. We also learned to check our emotions at the door.While I ascribe to the concepts of emotional intelligence (EI), we are still human; we have emotions. To deny that fact is insanity. EI purports that we understand and acknowledge our emotions, recognize them, and with conscious awareness not let the emotions rule us. This is certainly a healthy approach to emotions, which is very different from the professional corporate model we learned.Here are seven strategies for infusing laughter and lightness in your leadership and life:

Start developing your practice of laughter with consciously smiling today. See how many people you can touch and shift their energy with your smile.

Begin your meetings on a light note. I have the E*Trade babies’ videos on my favorites list and would start meetings with one or two of those commercials. The more I watch them, the funnier they are.

Watch a funny movie, making note of the elements that tickle your funny bone.

Listen to a funny tape on the way to work, setting the tone for the day.

Laugh for 3–5 minutes every day. Fake it ‘til you make it!

Commit to do one silly thing a day to cultivate your playfulness.

Start collecting stories from work that are funny; invite everyone to participate and present these stories at the annual holiday party.

What do you do to infuse laughter into your life?

With love and laughter,

Maria

P.S. This is an excerpt from my book!