Forbes -- “He doesn’t have a lot of experience managing people. Do you think he can do the job?” This is a phrase we hear more frequently as organizations fill the vacancies retiring Baby Boomers leave behind. Recently, a younger friend told me his experience of being hired after receiving his graduate degree. Most of the team he would manage had been working for the organization for more than 10 years and were his seniors by approximately 20 years. Some of them expressed frustration about being managed by someone so young and inexperienced. Were their fears grounded? How effective are newly appointed managers compared to the older and more seasoned folks they replace?
Frankly, being an older boss myself, I assumed veteran managers would prove to be the more effective leaders. But the data surprised me. In a recent article for Harvard Business Review my colleague Jack Zenger and I explored our database of more than 65,000 leaders and looked more deeply at managers who were 30 years of age and younger (455 leaders) and compared them to an older group of leaders over 45 years of age (4,298). Once we separated the two groups, we looked at the distinguishing characteristics of each.
When comparing groups, we strive to make them as similar as possible. But by the very fact they were promoted to managerial positions at a relatively young age, we realized that those in the younger group were primarily high potential achievers. It is not common to be elevated into a managerial job at such a young age. Of the younger group, 44% ranked in the top quartile on overall leadership effectiveness when compared to all leaders in our database. In contrast, the older group contained only 20% who were in the top quartile. In all, the older group was a combination of leaders who were exceptional, more that were good and an expected percentage who needed improvement.
When we looked at the 360 data of the younger and more seasoned managers we found the younger group was rated more positively on every one of the 49 items. This is both surprising and excellent news that indicates there are talented young leaders in our organizations who will be capable of stepping into key roles.
However, like my friend, younger managers struggle with proving their worth. From the comments and data we saw that younger managers were not fully trusted and that others often felt they were not capable of representing the organization. People also complained that young leaders lack strategic perspective and deep knowledge of their industries. It is true that some things are only learned over time. But before pass over promotion of a younger employee due to their “inexperience” you should know what they really have to offer. Here’s what we found:
- Welcome change. The younger leaders embraced change. They did a great job of marketing their new ideas. They had the courage to make difficult changes. Possibly their lack of experience caused them to be more optimistic about proposals for change. It was as if they did not know that changes would be hard to make happen. They possessed the courage to take on significant changes and were more willing to be the champions of change projects.
- Inspiring behavior. Younger leaders knew how to get others energized and excited about accomplishing objectives. They were able to inspire other to high levels of effort and production to a even greater degree than their more experienced counterparts. Their older colleagues tended to more often lead with “push” while they lead with “pull.”
- Receptive to Feedback. Young leaders were extremely open to feedback. They more frequently asked for feedback. They wanted more extensive feedback regarding their performance, and they found ways to both digest and implement the feedback. Older leader then to be less willing to ask for and respond to feedback from colleagues.
Read the rest of the story here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joefolkman/2015/10/01/6-surprising-reasons-younger-managers-perform-best/
