What happens when you find a position that looks like a great match, but it requires that you work for someone who is 10, 15, or even 20 years younger than you? As people stay in the workforce longer, this may be one of the new realities of the 21st century workforce. Boomers will be reporting to Gen Xers and Gen Ys and the expectations of these new bosses may be very different than their Boomer and Traditionalist predecessors. Emily Glazer, writer for Career Journal’s first 90 days column, offers some strategies for creating a strong working relationship with a younger boss. Here are a few of my own tips.
- Recognize that an important factor in managing any relationship is understanding the other person’s point of view. If your boss is from another generation, you may have differing opinions on many things. Observe their behavior to better understand if their communication style tends to be influenced by facts and figures or relationships and emotions. Determine how closely their style matches your own and think about the ways you can bend your dominant communication style when necessary to better complement their style.
- Accept that a comfort with technology may be very important to the younger boss. Don’t be surprised if you receive text messages, IMs, or calls on your cell phone…even if your boss is sitting six feet away from you. In some cases, the person you are working for doesn’t remember life without these tools. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have a conversation with your boss…it may just mean that they enjoy the flexibility of having multiple modes of communication.
- Forget about the past. Avoid using phrases such as “when I was at company XYZ”,or “we tried that before and it didn’t work”. These statements may make you appear inflexible and resistant to change.
- Keep an open mind. Don’t assume that a younger boss can’t teach you anything or help you grow in your career. When our children show us new things we listen, marvel, and accept it as progress. Why not do the same thing with a younger boss?