Managing older subordinates

“He knows the water best who has waded through it.”

 - - - Danish proverb

All new managers have dreams to attain and hence display of more-than-usual enthusiasm by them should be understandable. The contests, challenges and struggles in their climb up the career ladder are deep and intense. The measure of their success lies not in managing people but in leading them and making certain that every member stays focused on the same tactical and premeditated aims.

Your team may and will comprise people elder to you,. Leading them is a daunting task and which, if not executed properly can lead to misgivings and agitation. However, the fact is that there is no cause to lose your sleep. You should consider the following golden principles in managing older subordinates:

·   Don’t let your confidence dip:  You have to ensure that your self-confidence and poise is not disturbed; and that your capabilities are not diminished in any way. Your self-assuredness also has to be upheld and for that you have to be appropriately assertive as a person in charge. In their over-enthusiastic initiatives, young managers have a tendency to ignore or give the boot to older team-members because they apprehend that because of their experience, they could be outshined. You should always consider organizational interests in mind and acknowledge that you have been placed above others because of your acumen and competence.

·   Hold older employees in esteem: There is no denying the fact that the older the employee, the more world he would have seen. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in appreciating his experience and deriving advantage from it. In addition, you will also be able to strike a chord with them and win their faith and support. After all, reverence and trust are a give-and-take affair. You ought to tap into their capabilities and experience; there is no better way to do that than acknowledging their skills and having no hesitation in consulting them. Older subordinates should be seen as your mentors and making this fact known to them will pay you for sure.

·   Formulate shared targets:  Age is of no consequence amongst team members. There could be a difference, but what is important is that if you have common objectives, you efforts will be in sync. Moreover, you will be able to foster a culture of openness, faith and reliance. To put it differently, you need not aspire to be the sole seer but on the contrary, you should make certain that everybody in your team, including older people contribute to your visualization and make things happen.

·   Don’t have a rigid approach:  Compared to others, older employees need relatively more give and hence require relatively additional focus. Their experience can be a boon, provided you are willing to make allowances for them. Such allowances could be in the form of considerations like leave, domestic obligations and health needs. It is you who has to be instrumental in putting across their specific requirements to your management.

·   Be unruffled in crisis situations:   Under trying circumstances, if you lose your poise, you do not stand to gain. Older subordinates feel that young bosses are ground-breaking and pioneering; and with regard to astute counsel and prudent decisions, they have a tendency to be doubtful. Therefore, you need to exercise your sang-froid and remain composed – in this way you will be able to maintain your level of self-assuredness. You have to be discreet in your choice of words while talking and take all steps to not display any agitation in crises. All employees – and older ones are no exception – seek in their leader good sense, forethought and ability to be in command, both in trying and smooth circumstances.

The experience of others adds to your learning. If you would like to know the road ahead, you need to ask someone who has traveled it, even if it was a gravel path. Older employees afford you an opportunity to do just that. After all, life can only be understood backwards. But since has to be lived forward, you have to set direction because you are at the wheel.

Career planning - a deliberate process

Career planning is an endeavour that guides you to where you dream to be. It helps you to rid your thought process of vagueness and be clear of what you seek to attain in life. Therefore, if you have to spend a couple of hours on it, it is worth the effort. 

You will find that things are not that easy and you may tend to get seized up at the very initial stages itself. There will be several alternatives, with each one having different attributes and they will bewilder you, making you to disbelieve yourself. This is nothing unusual; and this is where precisely career planning will come to your rescue. The way forward has two options:

·   Bashing on regardless:  You need to identify what appeals to you the most and do it without having any second thoughts. Whether you succeed or fail, win or lose, grow or plummet – these factors are secondary. There will be very few who would advise you to exercise this option, but if you do, the voyage by itself will be your prize. There are examples of many successful persons who bashed on regardless.

·   Thinking &moving:  Here you are required to carry out some evaluation and find out what inspires you. Accordingly, a career that you think is best is selected, but before taking the actual plunge, you will have to acquire all the requisite qualifications for it. Contrary to bashing on regardless, here you are required to cautiously and with awareness make a roadmap and follow it to attain whatever you set out for – something that could well be enumerated to be an outcome of your job.

The above notwithstanding, you will still need to know what you are cut out for and hence be aware of your capabilities and vulnerabilities. You should carry out a sincere introspection by pondering over your attainments and recognitions earned till date; various actions that served to motivate you; and ppecific occasions on which you exerted with fervour.

You will realize that a set model will unfold itself and come to the fore. It will throw light on your under-mentioned abilities and which, singularly or collectively ought to be manifest your inclinations and excellence that would stand you in good stead in the years to come:

·   What you are capable of systematizing.

·   How you can put others at ease.

·   Aspects in which you can be in the forefront.

·   Crisis situations that you can resolve.

·   The degree of stress you can withstand.

·   Other matters, social and professional that you are adept at.

Having done the above, you need to make a note of aspects that inspire you – issues that you yearn for in your life. You can thus discern where you are at the moment and where you wish to be. As things become more apparent, you will become more positive and resolute. Thus, you will be able to arrive at a clear image of yourself and your unique selling points.

Contingent on your aspirations and disposition, you can also discern careers that will provide you living and working conditions that you dream of as also pecuniary benefits that you seek. You need to guard against fascinating delusions and remember that your progress, recognition and contentment spring from only one thing – putting your heart and soul into any work that you do.

  Having decided on the career path that you wish to embark upon, you should gear up for it by acquiring all requisite qualifications. Whatever be the path, you will taste success only if go about it sincerely and by leaving your personal stamp on it. Specific qualitative requirements apart, you also need to have and develop a high degree of self-discipline, an amiable disposition towards your co-workers, a professional approach towards your work and good communication skills.

To sum up, remember that if you have set a goal for yourself, you should be clear about it before you actually start working for its achievement. The journey ahead will be a learning experience too. But most importantly, it is the first step that will count.

Create your career vision

Your career span extends to about five decades. By any standards, this period is not small. Without enfeebling your today and without endangering your future, what should you be doing? You should take some time off and create a mental picture of your future. You need to craft a career vision.

What do you seek?

If you do not know where you want go, there will never be any wind that will blow in your favour.  Should you not know what you want, you will move around aimlessly; and likely to end up being highly dissatisfied. It is essential that you are also clear about what you do not want because its opposite will indicate to you what you want.

Don’t be scared

The procedure to identify and enunciate your career vision is a simple affair. People stay away from it because of misplaced ideas and lack of confidence. They are apprehensive of failure. But can you ever get to achieve anything if you do not know what that ‘anything’ is? If you can create a picture of it, you can live in accordance with it.

Look within

That you have embarked upon your journey towards your career objectives, you need to be ready to build your career vision. You should start by jotting down your reflections about it on a paper and perusing it on a day-to-day basis. This will cause you to start working for its fructification, willfully or otherwise.

You should ask yourself the following questions:

·   “What would I seek to be special in my career?”  You would have a picture of what you want to be and do, your dreams and aspirations – something that will make you stand out. You could perhaps also be thinking of trudging an unbeaten path so that you are not a part of the crowd but distinct from it.

·   “What type of a job suits me best?”  You know your robustness level and the type of pressure that you can withstand. Accordingly, you would like to work either indoors or outdoors. Or, you may prefer a static job vis-à-vis a touring one.

·   “What are those special duties that I can shoulder?” If you want to be different in your career, you would definitely like to accomplish differently. No accomplishment comes without shouldering responsibilities.

·   “What type of people would I like to work with?” You understand yourself better than anybody else. Gelling with people is one aspect, working with them is another.

·   “What kind of work schedule will go well with me?” You will have your own priorities and obligations. There will also be your hobbies and leisure pastimes; and a busy schedule will not suit you.

·   “Which organization would I like to join?” Depending upon what you aspire for, you may like to work in a new but progressive organization. On the other hand, it is likely that you wish to join a well-established one. It is your choice that you will have to exercise.

·   “What is the environment that I would like to work in?”  Again, depending upon your personality and preference, you could be casual or serious in your approach. You should be clear about the milieu that you want to be working in.

·   “What is the town do I want to be working in?” You could be willing to relocate anywhere in the country or the world. Or you may prefer to be located in a metropolis. Whatever be your choice, you need to be clear about it.

·   “What is the pay packet that I am yearning for?” Money could be an important consideration for you and hence you would take remuneration seriously. It is likely that you do not regard pecuniary factors above anything else and hence like to see yourself progressing in life gradually.

·   “What should my precedence be?” You should be clear about your priorities in life and work alike. Accordingly, you should enunciate them and decide on what issues need to be accentuated and the timeframe for their attainment.

Once you have created a career vision, you should get into an active mode to look for new opportunities that would offer you at least some facets of it. This may demand of you to change jobs or even a career, but then if you seek contentment, there is no other option. Remember that the empires of the future are nothing but empires of the mind. 

All job offers need not be accepted

On an average, a person spends 10-12 hours on his job and its related functions. While joining an organization or company, you cannot fathom whether you will be happy or not. And if there happen to be gloomy working conditions, life can turn out to very wretched.

Finding out if a company is good and its working environment cordial is a difficult task, particularly when you are desperate to take up an employment. However, some research will help you discern aspects that should serve to caution you against taking up a job with it. Following should raise apprehension, though an odd one or two should not be a cause of alarm:

·   Boorish correspondence:  All recruitment processes are elimination rounds. However, the manner in which you are contacted and treated during the selection process should be an indicator of poor support infrastructure. If you apply for a job and are short-listed, there is nothing wrong in expecting a polite conduct with your queries being responded to candidly. If things are otherwise or interviews scheduled are not conducted, you would be better off in a different place.

·   Misgivings:  As a prospective employee, you would never take any move that is detrimental to your career interests. Likewise, prospective employers also do not want to run the risk of recruiting a person of doubtful antecedents; and that is why background checks are conducted. If you are seeking appointment to post that handles classified organizational information, the checks will be more stringent. Checks done by pointing fingers manifest misgivings. If you are not being trusted now, you will not be trusted subsequently? Is there any use joining such an organization+

·   Working environment:  Taking up a job on the basis of information gathered from the internet or an interview conducted elsewhere is never advisable. You must see the workplace and its working atmosphere. The attitudinal disposition of the employees also matter a lot. Caution should be triggered if you find the place dirty and devoid of basic amenities, safety precautions and congenial working environment. Even display of offensive notices like ‘….. IS NOT ALLOWED. VIOLATORS WILL BE PUNISHED’ or ‘VEHICLES PARKED HERE WILL BE DEFLATED’ should convey to you that the management is least bothered about respect for visitors or employee welfare and that working here could be a discouraging affair.

·   Spoken reputation:  Today, mediums like the internet and various social media sites can be made use of to determine what ex-employees feel about a company. You can get to have a fairly accurate impression about the state of affairs of the company, including its financial status. As a matter of fact, such research should be done as a part of your preparations for the interview session. There are many web sites that offer a platform for employees to vent their job experiences; reaching out to them will help you know additional information.

·   Apprehensions about survival:  If you happen to have a boss with whom your chemistry matches, you will generally be content with your job. You must make it a point to talk about working and reporting methodologies during your interview; in this way you will be able to establish an approximate compatibility equation that you may enjoy. If you have any inkling that you may find the job uncomfortable, be bold enough to decline the offer.

·   Charter of duties:  After an interviewing session with one or two hiring managers, you will be able to gauge what is expected of you as far as your charter of responsibilities and company aspirations are concerned. If there happens to be any ambiguity or indistinctness, rest assured that the job environment will be terrible, if not ruinous.

·   Joining period:  There are some seasonal job requirements wherein the haste on the part of the employer is understandable. Such jobs do not stipulate much experience, but in other cases, extreme anxiety on the part of the employer is to be construed as a red flag. You must view all such job offers with certain amount of doubt and skepticism.

No recruiting process can be foolproof; employers place some percentage of reliance on their instinct while selecting candidates. Likewise, you too need to depend upon your inner gut feelings to some extent. If things do not appear to be good, perhaps you need to delve into more details before accepting a job offer.