It's become more common for older employees to report to younger managers

10/24/2000

By Helen Bond / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

At 34, Jeff Kaye, president and chief operating officer of Kaye/Bassman International, doesn't like being called "boss" or "manager."

Mr. Kaye, who joined the Dallas recruiting firm at 22 and in six years whizzed up the corporate ladder to his present-day post, prefers to be viewed as a "leader," "mentor" or "coach."

Jim Mahoney / DMN Consultant Bill Duncan, 56, who answers to project manager Gail Meyer McLeroy, 33, at CDG & Associates, says the age difference doesn't matter. "I see things differently because of my background and experience, but I can also offer advice and insight in that way."

Along with his 60-year-old partner, Mr. Kaye supervises 75 people – some twice his age. And while he is confident running the company, he admits he can still feel uncomfortable when he must hold someone older than him accountable.

"Most young people will call themselves leaders," Mr. Kaye says. "Leaders work with people; managers manage tasks."

Mr. Kaye is experiencing and, through his job as a recruiting executive, witnessing a growing phenomenon in the workplace: More employees are finding themselves answering to younger bosses.

Middle managers are being passed over for promotions. Whiz kids are eclipsing steady workers. Retirees are becoming greeters at Wal-Mart. Even the next vice president of the United States will be answering to a younger boss.

In most instances, the scenario works out fine – no more a workplace issue than whether you're left-handed or right-handed. But with different ways of walking, talking and thinking, this changing workforce can create feelings of disrespect, condescension, resentment, insensitivity and tension – on both sides.

Either way, the age disparity isn't going away.

World views Generationally savvy organizations value the differences between people and look at them as strengths. Consider the ways varied age groups in the workforce see the work world. Veterans Work ethic: Dedicated Leadership by: Hierarchy Boomers Work ethic: Driven Leadership by: Consensus Gen Xers Work ethic: Balanced Leadership by: Competence Nexters Work ethic: Determined Leadership by: Pulling together SOURCE: Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers and Nexters in Your Workplace byRon Zemke,Claire Raines, Bob Filipczak (Amacom, $25).

How young bosses and talented older workers handle the challenge can determine the success or failure of workplace harmony within a company.

These days, veterans (born between 1922 and 1943), baby boomers, Gen Xers (careerists born between 1960 and 1980) and Nexters (also called Millennials) are all in the workforce at the same time. This has resulted in the first multigenerational workforce in history, says Dick Lyles, Ph.D., author of Winning Ways: 4 Secrets for Getting Great Results by Working Well With People (Putnam Publishing Group, $19.95).

"Always in the past, when one generation has moved in and established itself, they have nudged the preceding generation out. That is not happening this time," Dr. Lyles says. "A lot of baby boomers in their early 50s are making 20-year career plans.

"The thing that is also happening is that the technological revolution has caught on with younger people first. So that the technological competence that gives people an edge also gives them an edge for leadership and management positions at a relatively young age."

At 56, Bill Duncan, a Vietnam veteran who joined Dallas-based CDG & Associates as a consultant in June, may not have much in common with his boss, project manager Gail Meyer McLeroy, 33. But when it comes to managing a project for their human-resource-systems consulting firm, they are on the same page.

"I don't see the world the way she does in some ways, because of her age," says Mr. Duncan. "I can honestly say it doesn't matter. I see things differently because of my background and experience, but I can also offer advice and insight in that way."

For her part, Ms. McLeroy has managed older employees most of her career. "Everybody brings their own set of assets, especially in a technology environment," she says.

"A lot of the younger people in the workforce have more experience with current technology. However, in a client situation, people who have more experience can generally handle the client issues with a better perspective."

When younger bosses and more seasoned employees collide, it is often over an issue of respect: Older workers may think that because of their seniority or tenure they should be respected, regardless of their performance levels. And younger managers may become impatient and fail to respect the wisdom and experience that someone older brings to the table.

"It boils down to ego," Dr. Lyles says. "If people don't get hung up on satisfying their own ego needs from an outdated or disrespectful point of view, it works."

Bosses and their more seasoned counterparts can help that notion along by understanding their differences. Baby boomers, for instance, tend to be process-oriented people, looking hard at how to get things done to make a profit. Gen Xers often have a "get it done" mentality that makes them more results-oriented, says Bob Wendover, director of the Center for Generational Studies in Denver.

When mutual respect is in place, those qualities create a "nice synergy," Mr. Wendover says.

The dot.com world, with executives barely out of their teens running billion-dollar companies, may have launched the age divergence. But this role reversal has spilled over into other industries, from finance to fast food.

At the DoubleTree Campbell Centre Hotel, Tom Cherry's last three bosses have been his junior. As director of engineering and security for the hotel, Mr. Cherry, 54, says younger leadership has "brought fun back into the workplace," an important asset in a business filled with turnover.

His boss, general manager Sandi Denton, 45, considers employees like Mr. Cherry crucial because they have the loyalty that Xers, more eager to change jobs for the money, don't have.

"They [more seasoned employees] have a level of commitment you don't find in everyone," she says.

As Mr. Kaye has gotten older, married and had a family, he finds himself sandwiched between working generations that view him differently because of their age. He says his challenge is to continue evolving as a "visionary leader" to meet the working styles of both age groups.

Both Mr. Wendover and Dr. Lyles say employees and their bosses must have the courage to communicate and work through any differences.

"Fundamental respect and common sense are the keys. We need to think in terms of building relationships that not only drive results for the bottom line today, but also create foundations for long-term success, performance and positive relationships," says Dr. Lyles.

"The era of the individual superstar is gone. With network organizations, everything they do is a result of joint effort and working together."

Helen Bond is a Dallas free-lance writer.