Leading and Managing Boomers
Now working for a Boomer boss is one thing, but having a Boomer work for you is another. With the generational parade progressing steadily along, the shift in leadership is inevitable. The Boomers have led the charge for a long time, and many are continuing to lead, but those who have not continued to learn and grow are finding that the workplace and all of its technological innovations are passing the skills of yesteryear with breakneck speed. Many will soon find that they no longer have the skills or capabilities to lead today’s departments, business units, or organizations, but don’t expect them to admit it.
Some of this will take care of itself with the Boomers retiring at a rate of one every 8 seconds, but the economic turmoil combined with their never-grow-old attitude may have many Boomers delaying retirement plans until they are literally forced off the workplace playground by younger generations. One writer put it like this:
Welcome, Baby Boomers. In another year or two you’re going to start retiring and joining us old folks. You better get ready. After all these decades of being the toast of the town, the biggest-ever generation to whom attention must be paid, you’re about to become passé. Or not.1
We think, not…. It doesn’t have to be an ugly scene. There is a win/win/win scenario, and we just have to find it. Remember, Boomers have a lot of characteristics we like, and even more importantly, they have learned wisdom from the years in the trenches and they have the workplace knowledge and product intelligence that are needed to minimize strategic mistakes as innovation and technology take their place. Just as Minnesota employers are mapping ways to tap their experience—and to accommodate those who want to stay on the job2—we can do this inside our organizations. For example, we can try the following:
• Create transitional retirement plans, allowing Boomers to have more time off or shorter work weeks while remaining an important part of the team. They’ll have more time to play with the grandkids, travel, play golf, work on their hobbies or start another small business.
• Provide Boomers with a career coach who can help them reinvent themselves within the organization to continue to add value, which is very important to the Boomers, and also to continue to earn a paycheck to keep up their big houses and expensive toys (and now the expensive toys for their grandkids).
• Create consultant contracts for retiring Boomers to consult back to the organization on an as-needed basis, bringing in their long-term expertise when needed, yet moving their big salaries off of payroll.
We’re sure there are many more options, and every employer and Boomer can begin to come up with scenarios that fit his/her environment. Just remember, “Boomers are pro-environmental, anti-war, root for the under dog, change the worlders.”3 Surely there’s something in your company that can benefit from these characteristics.
All this is sort of logistics, and it’s fun to think about the new options the world is creating that Boomers will love, because they love options and they love change. However, there is a less fun side to the leadership transition, and that is the common scenario taking place every day in the workplace: a Boomer, for one reason or another, is moved under an Xer boss or, God forbid, a Y boss.
Yes, we know: the more sophisticated workplaces have this all figured out and are moving to more of a team-based model— it’s like one big happy family. It’s just that our experience paints another scenario, so let’s spend some time getting the issues out on the table:
• For Boomers, their life is or has been their work for a long time.
• Boomers have fought long and worked hard to get to the “king of the mountain” position.
• Author Howard Smead says that Boomers are “the most egocentric generation in the history of mankind.”
• Boomers can be very competitive and sometimes hard to please.4
Now, take these characteristics in an employee and move that employee to where he or she is working for someone younger, possibly half his or her age. Sometimes this happens in a company where the Boomer has worked the majority of his or her career and feels that he or she has a lot more value to add than the new, younger boss. Don’t expect Boomers to take it lying down. You are going to encounter one of two types of Boomer employees: pessimistic or optimistic. Here’s how one person described these two types:
I’ve been talking to a lot of my boomer friends lately to wish them well over the holidays. Some are morbid and pessimistic and keep complaining about the inability to retire. Others are youthful and optimistic, constantly seeking BOTOX® as their spa-replacement solution.5
Either way, it’s happening, so the younger generations are going to have to learn how to deal with it. This is a good place to apply some of the lessons we’ve learned from Boomers.
While it may not be an easy situation, it is not an impossible one either. Boomers may be tough competitors with big egos, but they are able to wrap their arms around new challenges, so engage them in the process of figuring out how best to work together. Don’t be offended if the first stab at this is more like “just let me do my work and we’ll get along fine.” You may also sense some unspoken tension as everyone learns to deal with the new situation. It’s going to take a little effort on everyone’s parts to get this ball rolling in the right direction. Here are a few ways to move through the tough spots with your Boomer employees:
1. Don’t come in waving your title around and saying effectively, “I’m the boss now, so we’re going to do it my way.” Come in softly, but not timidly. You’ll need strength, courage, and confidence to lead well in today’s workplace.
2. While you don’t want to “pull rank,” you also don’t want to drag out the transition. Dragging out this process doesn’t help anyone and creates ambiguity. Move swiftly into the leadership position, but be an open-minded leader who is able to learn from employees. Ask questions: gain an understanding of the people and their communication preferences, work styles, skills, etc.
3. Be clear about what is expected of you and what you expect from them, and whenever possible, give them options.
4. Answer the Boomers’ questions thoroughly and don’t be surprised if you get grilled for details. It’s not personal; it’s just their way.
5. Put the right people in the right places regardless of age. Whether they are a Boomer, an X, or a Y, they still have to show themselves worthy of the position. When a person is underperforming, even if that person is twice your age, you still have to manage his or her performance and help him or her get on the right track or move that person to another track/position inside or outside of the company. The rules don’t change just because the person you’re managing may be old enough to be your parent.
6. Respect the Boomers’ work ethic. It isn’t likely that you’ll have to ask them to work harder. The Boomers understand hard work, and whatever time they have on the job, they will be glad to spend it doing meaningful work. On the other hand, if they are not valued, it’s going to be an ugly scene for everyone: you’ll lose their idealism and see their cynical side, which isn’t pretty from any generation.
7. Prove yourself to your Boomer employee with results. Do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it, and do it consistently. Don’t spend too much time talking about the work. Show them your ability, and you’ll gain credibility and their trust over time.
Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.
— Peter Drucker
By focusing on getting results in a collaborative way with a positive attitude you are very likely to win over your Boomer employee. It’s an ego tester all the way around, but if you create an environment where each person is appreciated for the role that he or she plays, it can be both fun and exciting.
Your character is more important than your position.
Respect is earned, not demanded.
Stay focused on the kind of person you want to be, not the title or position. You’ll know you’ve done a good job when age is mentioned and you and your Boomer employee can both honestly say, “It’s never a factor.”
Notes
1. Stock, Robert W. “Baby Boomers, Here’s What’s Coming Next.” AOL News. AOL Inc. Web. 24 July 2010.
2. Totten, Sanden. “Age and Experience Count against Older Workers | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ.” Minnesota Public Radio. MPR News, 19 June 2008. Web. 24 July 2010. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/ display/web/2008/06/16/olderwkrsunemployment/.
3. Viscusi, Stephen. “Interview Tips on How to Be ‘Perceived’ as 10 Years Younger than You Really Are on an Interview.” Generation Integration: Roberta Matuson Unites Boomers, X-ers and Millennials in the Workplace. 20 Dec. 2009. Web. 24 July 2010. http://generationintegration.typepad.com/matuson/2009/12/ interview-tips-on-how-to-be-perceived-as-10-years-younger-than-you-really-are-on-an-interview.html.
4. Zust, Christine W. “Baby Boomer Leaders Face Challenges by Christine W. Zust—EmergingLeader.com.” EmergingLeader. com|Exploring Strategies and Concepts of Leadership through User Participation, Articles, Links, Profiles, Discussions and More. Web. 24 July 2010. http://www.emergingleader.com/article16.shtml.
5. Ko, Lina. “Get Brain-Fit In the New Year.” Boomerwatch.ca. 18 Dec. 2009. Web. 24 July 2010. http://www.boomerwatch.ca?p=382.