How to work for a manager who has less experience than you
Opinion
There’s an unexpected moment in every career when a noticeable shift happens. For most of our working lives, we report to managers who are older and more experienced than us – until one day that changes. You get a new boss, and they’re younger than you.
This can be a jolting experience no matter what your age, raising complicated feelings about self-worth, identity and longevity. But as more generations work alongside each other, it’s also becoming increasingly common. How do you work for a boss who has less experience than you?
Different cultures have different approaches. I recently spent a month in South Korea, criss-crossing the country, trying to understand their rich and complex history, and how it affects their present.
Korean work culture is underpinned by deeply held values, like Confucian hierarchy, collectivism and an intense dedication to their job. Seniority carries particular cultural weight, and I heard many stories of younger and older workers struggling to work together. Some of the anecdotes described new CEOs intentionally freezing out any employees who were older than them as a way of not dealing with awkward generational gaps.
Australia has a different working culture, with flatter structures and less formality both in and out of the office. When workers of varied ages mix in the workplace, we are better suited to recognise the positives each of them brings.
A recent report by the Australian HR Institute and Australian Human Rights Commission found that older workers are overwhelmingly viewed as more loyal (74 per cent), more reliable (64 per cent) and better able to cope with stress (62 per cent). The positives in the junior cohorts were creativity, energy, physical capabilities and better proficiency with technology.
Once you establish that your age can be seen as an asset, a good manager should tap into that wisdom to help them, and you, keep progressing.
Working for a younger boss is something most of us will face; there are three things to help you navigate your way through it.
The first is to stay open-minded about the change, as both sides can be nervous about exactly what it means. Reporting to a younger boss is more about identity than authority. Experienced employees might feel like they’re becoming obsolete or getting pushed aside in the workplace. On the other side of the desk, younger managers often worry they have to re-establish their legitimacy, or can be confused about how to wield their new powers responsibly.
The second thing is to use your experience as an advantage. Share everything you know with your manager, and you’ll quickly become a valuable resource on client history, office politics and how a workplace ticks. Once you establish that your age can be seen as an asset, a good manager should tap into that wisdom to help them, and you, keep progressing.
Lastly, don’t just pretend that the age difference doesn’t exist. Acknowledge it openly and have discussions from the beginning about the different ways you each work. There can be stark differences in approaches, and you need to have a clear conversation about what they are.
I usually advise a form of a “user manual” that each party fills out, describing how to get the most out of each other. This can include how you prefer to communicate, what your priorities are, and how you like to give and receive feedback. Seeing these standards early in the relationship can help avoid many miscommunication pitfalls that can easily trip it up.
Working for a younger boss can be a fulfilling experience when both parties recognise what they bring to the table and commit to learning from each other. The younger manager has the authority to make important work decisions, and you’ve got experience to guide them towards the right ones.
Tim Duggan is an author, founder and optimist. He co-founded Junkee Media, is the Chair of the Digital Publishers Alliance and writes the monthly newsletter, OUTLET (One Useful Thing Literally Every Time).