They Don't Teach Corporate in College (51 page)

Remember that your employees are not your friends. Although it's great to develop a strong rapport with them and to get to know them as individuals, you should be careful about how much information you share about your personal life and how often you get together with them socially outside the office. Your relationships with your employees should always maintain a degree of professionalism. The more the lines blur, the tougher it is to do your job as a manager. For instance, you may find yourself skirting an employee's performance problem because you don't want to jeopardize your friendship with her, or you may tell her something in confidence that she could later claim as inappropriate boss-to-employee communication. Because it's challenging to meet people in your 20s, the office is a natural place to scope out new friendships. You'd be wise, however, to look outside your reporting structure for a new buddy.

In the multi-generational workplace that defines the 21st century, it's not unusual for you, the twenty-something, to be suddenly managing a team of employees who are older than you. You should be prepared for some inevitable snide comments and perhaps even some long-standing resentment. Here are some strategies for overcoming your reports' initial skepticism.

Be confident, but deferential.
You were put in charge for a reason, so try not to be defensive about it. If you don't keep your head up as if you deserve to be there, your employees will perceive you as weak and immature. On the other hand, refrain from acting like a know-it-all just because you're the boss. Show respect for your reports' years of experience and go out of your way to seek out and then follow their recommendations.

Don't tip-toe around expectations.
If your older employees know what they're supposed to be doing and how they will be evaluated from the get-go, you'll avoid misunderstandings down the line. Make sure you all agree on the best way to proceed with their jobs and their careers, and encourage them to express themselves openly in the event of a conflict.

Listen and give them breathing room.
Give older employees your undivided attention (in other words, don't text while they're talking to you), and always try to understand their points of view. Make
suggestions, but be conscious of their need for freedom. Older employees who have been doing a job for years may be insulted by a younger boss who insists on being involved every step of the way.

Facilitate training and mentoring opportunities.
Assume that older workers are capable of everything younger workers are, and treat them as such. Ensure that older reports are up to speed on the latest technology, especially software designed to make their jobs easier. If you have younger employees on your staff as well, consider starting a reciprocal mentoring program in which the younger reports help the older ones with technology adoption, and in turn the older ones assist the younger ones with assimilating into the company and the business world in general.

Overseeing productive team meetings is another responsibility that separates the strong supervisors from the weak. Two of the biggest gripes I've heard about managers are that they either refuse to have team meetings or that they run them inefficiently. Recognize that team meetings serve a variety of purposes, including communicating new goals and information, building teamwork, motivating employees, and providing a forum to resolve issues. If you never call your group together as a team, your employees might feel isolated and uninformed, and problem issues may fester because there is no opportunity to clear the air. However, you don't want to have meetings just for the sake of having meetings. Here are some do's and don'ts for managing effective meetings:

Allow your employees to have a say in determining the agenda for the meeting.

Distribute the agenda ahead of time, making sure to list the specific issues to be discussed.

Plan something special every now and then, such as bringing in lunch or donuts.

Have team members contribute to the meeting by having them provide a status update for their projects.

Keep the tone of the discussion open and positive.

Encourage team members to freely voice their concerns and to help one another.

Maintain a big-picture perspective and calmly guide the group toward a consensus or solution if a problem arises.