The “Millennial” Manager
Are younger people with little or no experience qualified to manage?
This is a pressing question in the management world and in everyday life that has millennials feeling a lot like this:
Younger people are being hired and promoted quicker because of an aggressive job market and a great emphasis on technological skills that is necessary in the fast moving media industry.
The leadership consultant agency Zenger/Folkman told Business Insider, a news website focused on changes and trends in the business world, that “Younger leaders are rated significantly more effective than their older counterparts.”
Zenger/Folkman observed a group of leaders, with young and old superiors in the pool of observation.
The consultants say their study shows younger managers score in the top quarter of leaders at a rate more than twice that of older managers, which shows the growing trends in the workplace that younger management is becoming more and more frequent.
This research should clear some doubt that for the most part, younger people that are being picked as managers are above average and though they may lack experience, they make up for in being qualified for the job. The benefits of being young and current with the newest technology are in the favor of millennial managers, but nothing can ever be without obstacles.
An article from Forbes, an American business magazine, discusses that even if millennial managers are qualified, lack of experience and respect from older employees could be hindering their successfulness in the workforce.
“Millennial managers can have trouble winning respect from colleagues due to inexperience or preconceived connotations.” –Forbes
To help ease the rift of senior employees having to report to those younger than them, this article by American business magazine Forbes had the following 4 tips:
The Forbes article suggests that these 4 tips help to build a relationship, and through building that relationship young people are able to gain respect and implement authority after trust is built. There is still room for miscommunication, but by taking those steps, many possible scenarios are eliminated.
Remember, to the young manager it seems like this:
But to the long-time employee used to a certain way of things, it’s like this:
Patience is key in the delicate situations when balancing the task of exercising authority while maintaining a degree of respect for the older employees.
If that is mastered along with the 4 tips from Forbes, the goal of millennial managers is achieved and they start to look a lot like this:
