Working for a Younger Boss What do you bring to the job? What are your strengths and how can you best build on those strengths? Career Changers Conference, 6-­‐2-­‐14 Facilitator: Dr. Candace Schulenburg, Cape Cod Community College Our New Boss What we see……….. Barriers to success Strengths for success (Changes in Thinking and Coping that Come with Maturity) WHAT DO WE BRING TO THE TABLE? hKp://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/37278452#38445827 (Working for a Younger Boss) hKp://www.aarp.org/work/job-­‐hunVng/info-­‐05-­‐2008/
job_Vps_for_50plus_workers.html (Interviewing Tips) TODAY SHOW VIDEO ON WORKING FOR A YOUNGER BOSS Today Show Video How do you feel about the possibility of working for a younger boss? –  Embarrassed? –  Ashamed? –  Frustrated? –  Resen^ul? –  SkepVcal? –  Fearful? –  Other feelings? •  Embarrassed? Ashamed? – The youth of the boss as a challenge to one’s ego. What does this mean about me? Example: I work for a boss who is twenty years younger than I am. I am fiby. He is thirty. There was a Vme when I was ashamed of this, thinking it a reversal of the natural order of things that reflected poorly on my socio-­‐economic achievement. My boss, from their perspecVve, felt uneasy about supervising someone both older and more educated than he. •  Frustrated? – At my age, I have to start anew. •  ResenBul? – I deserve bePer. •  SkepFcal? –This boss is too young to do this job! Or, can I do this, step up to this challenge? Am I tech savvy enough? •  Fearful: About abiliSes: If I can’t keep up with the latest soTware programs and work massive amounts of overSme at the drop of a hat. I’m not keeping up: I’m not valuable. About negaSve stereotypes: A younger boss may see me as: ”over the hill," "coasVng toward reVrement," experiencing "second childhoods," or subject to those memory impairing "senior moments." •  Fearful cont’d: About Different expectaSons: A younger boss — parVcularly one without children and with a 24-­‐7 mentality of messaging and communicaVng — could be tough if you have a family. Constant communicaVon can seem overbearing and a younger boss might not care about working unVl 8 p.m., or won’t understand that your lack of chit-­‐chaing isn’t unfriendly, just a tacVc to be efficient and make it home in Vme to say goodnight to your children. Know your strengths. THE BENEFITS OF MATURITY: MIDLIFE PEAKS IN COGNITIVE ABILITIES -­‐ INTEGRATIVE THINKING, FLEXIBILITY IN THINKING, COPING SKILLS, AND WISDOM Thinking becomes more integraSve with age Example #1 -­‐ Rosalind is a recent divorcee who has moved from NJ back to the Cape to move in with her parents while aKending CCCC to become a nurse. She aKends a magic show at the college with her 8 year old son. As they watch the show, her son is amazed by the magician’s tricks while Rosalind reflects on……. She comes to the conclusion that…….? #2 Beth and Henry have been in a long term commiKed relaVonship for 10. Early on in their relaVonship, they both decided that they did not want children and used a variety of birth control measures successfully unVl now. Beth, age 38, finds herself pregnant and she does not want to keep the baby. What should they do. Explain your answer. We older folks integrate more of our experiences and emoVons into our judgments rather than seeing the world as black and white. Instead, our world is gray. We “filter” new informaSon through our life experiences and previous learning. We trust our gut. Some areas of thinking peak with age – verbal and reasoning abiliVes: Verbal: Come up with as many words as you can with “car” part of them Reasoning: Let’s try Beach Sudoku! (word knowledge and flexibility in thinking). Advances in ExperVse with Age #3 ApplicaVon to an interview situaVon Summary of age related changes in our thinking: We older adults are able to…. •  Think about the world through the lens of our life experiences •  Show peaks in several areas of thinking •  Trust our intuiSon •  Be less judgmental •  See more than one side (e.g. Stepping into another’s shoes – 4:28 on Today video) •  Be more open to mulSple opSons Moving onto the next point – bePer control of our emoSons. Changes in Coping and Wisdom With age: Comes the serenity to accept those things one cannot change: We don’t sweat the small stuff. The courage to change the things one can: We focus our energies on that which we can do something about. And the wisdom to know the difference: We pick our baPles. Listen to The Gambler with Kenny Rogers. Facts: Older workers are more reliable, less volaSle, and generally more producSve than their younger colleagues. Talking about your strengths: What’s your story? Think about a skill you used in the past in any area of life. Tell a story about yourself, your traits, your experience (in a previous job, as a friend, as a parent, as a coach or other type of volunteer) inside and outside the workplace. Have you raised a family? Had a long, happy marriage? Developed strong friendships? Served honorably in the armed services? If you have had such successes in your life, there’s no reason to feel outdone just because you have a younger boss. What not to do! “Hi, I’m Dale Kurow, and I’m a career and execuVve coach. I hold a Master’s Degree in Career Counseling and have been trained by a master level coach. (Who cares!) I’ve been an HR director for a mulVnaVonal cosmeVc company, run a PR agency and taught college-­‐
level business courses. (So what!) I believe that coaching can be the catalyst to change your life. (Are you asleep yet?) Dale’s Revision: “Hi, I’m Dale Kurow, and I help people become more successful at their work. For example, I’ve helped a client change jobs with a 40% salary increase, I’ve helped a client develop the skills to deal with a difficult boss, and I’ve helped a manager devise new ways to keep her staff moVvated.” Making use of one’s story: Point out what you have to offer. Developing opening lines for interviewing by starSng with: “I will help you by…………………. “I helped (individuals/company/etc.) by…………………… Unsuccessful Interview Openers: “Hi, my name is Stanley Manly, and I’m a public relaVons execuVve with twenty years of experience.” “Hi, I’m Sally Hopeful, and I’m an execuVve recruiter. Two big yawns. Why? Successful Opening Lines: “Hi, my name is Stanley Manly, and I help inventors tell the world about their invenSons.” “Hi, I’m Sally Hopeful. I partner with companies that need to find talented people to help their business growth and become more profitable.” Now try it for an Avon representaSve, a business coach….. Possible Opening Lines in an Interview: I know an Avon representaVve who says: “I help women look beauVful.” Or a business coach that says: “I will help you get more clients than you know what to do with.” Now try it using your story…………. On the job: Accept and Adapt “Younger bosses make a place for older workers when those workers guide them in the ways of doing it. In fact, when each party can present him or herself without pretense or apology, working out an appropriate role in the workplace can someVmes be as easy as just not taking oneself too seriously.” In short, who has to change? Use the AA formula Accept and Adapt to your boss. Don't expect your boss to adapt to you. Older workers are not responsible for possible discriminaVon against them, but they can act in ways that either support their supervisor’s view or contradict it.” Voice your approval for fresh strategies. Define expectaVons •  Ask upfront about the job duVes, the performance of the people who previously held the job and how the manager communicates with employees. •  Older workers usually prefer face-­‐to-­‐face communicaVon, while younger workers may prefer emailing, texVng or even tweeVng. You might have to break down, get a smart phone, and figure out how to use it. That's not a bad thing. Flip your thinking Consider advantages to having a younger boss: •  A fresh start: These days, the story says, “it’s far more common to have a boss who is a generaVon (or more) younger than you. It can be awkward, but, the story indicates that someVmes younger bosses are “a major advantage for an older worker because the young worker won’t be caught up in the old story of what [you] may or may not be capable of.”
~Jennifer MariK at: hKp://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2008/07/30/
does-­‐the-­‐bosss-­‐age-­‐maKer/ •  A chance to learn: A young execuVve oben has useful skills—he might give you an opportunity to catch up on the latest technology. Be posiVve: It is far beKer to respect the evident skills the boss brings to the job and to concentrate on the ways that you can genuinely help him or her. Remember who the boss is. You will encounter good bosses and horrible bosses. Your job is always to put them at ease and have them know they can count on your work and support. Have your boss's back Do everything you can to be helpful without appearing superior or condescending. Quietly and competently swoop in and take care of business. Your boss will be grateful, and immediately understand that you're on his or her side. In short -­‐ Treat your young boss like you would any other boss: …With complete respect from the word go. Your boss got the posiVon because he or she has the right skills and impressed the superiors. It won't get you anywhere to spread rumors, gossip or innuendos about the boss and his or her age. Problems AdapVng? •  Consider that the difficulty of working for a younger boss might be rooted in your own insecuriSes. •  Consider just not taking oneself too seriously.” Park your baggage at the door. Doing the Job Work is about compleVng tasks in a Vmely and profitable manner. When both the older worker and his or her younger manager are clear about this, they oben find that there is Vme leb over to get to know and understand each other. I have grown to like my younger boss. We don't play bridge or golf together. We don't read the same books or listen to the same music. But now and then when business is slow we take some Sme just to talk about our lives. That is friendship, and there is nothing more conducive to job saSsfacSon than being able to work among friends. ~The End Music and Beach Sudoku Links •  We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billie Joel: •  hKps://
www.youtube.com/
watch?v=2a2SS0zqmzk •  Beach Sudoku: •  hKp://games.aarp.org/
games/beach-­‐sudoku/
beach-­‐sudoku.aspx •  The Gambler – Kenny Rogers: •  hKps://
www.youtube.com/
watch?
v=kn481KcjvMo&featur
e=player_embedded