My subordinates are very experienced and older than me. How do I control them? Ramesh asked me. He was just 26 and working in a managerial position in a multinational company.
Ramesh's problem is not isolated. Many times, young managers feel unhappy and embarrassed by elder subordinates. This results in total dissatisfaction of the employee and also bad work atmosphere. But you can avoid this by following the five principles given below.
1. Be soft but firm.
Elders often get irritated by a harsh tone from a young manager. But you can be conveying the same feelings in a calm cool voice. This will not hurt him. For example for a late coming person, the question "why are you late today?" can be put in many ways some of which hurting and some very gentle but firm.
2. Try to understand their problems.
Elders may have many problems which may seem irrelevant to you. This may include health related problems, family matters etc. A boss who understands them is more liked than a person who is indifferent to them and demands work without consideration.
3. Value the experience.
Many times the experience of an employee can be useful in handling situations. You as a manager can get their opinion about the problem at hand and try to improvise on the solution. Also discussions with elders valuing their opinions will be very much helpful to you in maintaining a relationship.
4. Give them the pride by delegating.
After some time you get a feel of the capabilities and limitations of each. If you find a subordinate capable you can make him feel important by delegating important work to him. Only thing is that he should not have a feeling that you are delegating because of your incapability.
5. Keep your cool.
In spite of all these, if you find that the situation is tense or unpleasant, try to keep your cool and handle it. It may even be better to leave it as it is for some time before you handle it. A gap may reduce the tension in the atmosphere.
Kannan Balakrishnan is a budding indian writer. He continuously writes on a variety of topics like website design, computer science, self improvement etc. Now his thoughts are presented through celebrated blog
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