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A REVOLUTION
FOR
THE AGES
Do you feel awkward reporting
to a younger boss? A new
generation is trying to allay your fears
by asking,
`What's age got to do with it?'
Innovation apart, fast proliferating
startups have another side effect
-younger bosses. This shift in status quo
does give rise to a certain
anxiety.
In a traditionally hierarchy-friendly
country, does this tipping of balance
change things at the workplace?
According to the recent 2015 TimesJobs
Leadership Survey, over 60 per cent
entry-to-mid level employees say
they would like to have young bosses. This,
however, is in contrast to
80 per cent senior professionals, who
after 20 years of experience,
would prefer older bosses. The question of age seems to have
left India
Inc in a bind, but it is strangely the young
entrepreneurs and business
managers who themselves are offering a
solution.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
For startups and companies that are
concerned with newer technologies
the media and the internet, young
bosses often prove to be a huge
advantage.
At 23, Rega Jha is Editor, Buzzfeed
India, and she leads a team of people
where almost everyone is older than
her. “For an internet company,“
she says, “there is a premium on being
young. We have an inherent
advantage because we grew up with this
technology. Older people in
their 30s and 40s will walk up to my team in
office and ask,
`Hey, what do you kids think of this?'
So age does not come with any
negative connotations at work.“
While youngsters may be better
equipped to tackle new age jobs,
young bosses are not complacent enough
to be oblivious to the lack
of experience that comes with their
age. In fact, because they are so
keenly aware of this fact, they constantly
try to learn from older
colleagues. In her tenure with
Buzzfeed Rega has been conscious of her
age and thus respectful of employees with More
experience, even going
out of her way to ask them for tips and
advice.
Their own failures and successes have helped
provide her a priceless map.
TWO-WAY STREET OF EDUCATION
Saurabh Agarwal was already an
entrepreneur when it hadn't even
become cool to become one. He started
Unify Facility Management in
2009 and was only 26 at the time. Today,
Unify is one of the biggest
housekeeping service providers for corporate
and commercial facilities
in the country. In a business that had
little to do with new technologies,
Saurabh was surrounded by older experts.
“Even when I started taking
interviews, I made sure I didn't sound bossy.
These people were more experienced
than me. They had worked in the
industry for 20 years and seen and done
things I hadn't. I told them I
needed them for this venture to
succeed. They had the expertise I didn't
and I did not even try to hidethis fact.“
The respondents to this article made
it clear that most employees in the
country value skills far more than
age. Rahul Sharma, for instance, joined
the Teach For India Fellowship in 2013 to
teach students of low-income
schools. Because the average age of people
working in the NGO fell
within the mid-20s spectrum, only a
handful of people were older than
Rahul. At 40, Rahul was 10-15 years older
than the Program Managers
he reported to
during the two years he spent there.
“Even though I was older than my
Program Managers, they had more experience
than me in the education
field,“ says Rahul, who had left his
cushy corporate job to engineer
societal change. “It made no differ
ence to me that they were younger
than me. In my mind, there is no bias
for either younger or older bosses.
I learned from them, like I would from any
boss. Conversely, they took
my opinion on things just like they took
opinions from other colleagues
who were their age.“
RESPECT YOUR JUNIORS
The situation at a senior management
level proves to be even more
age-agnostic. While junior-to-mid level
functions involve a lot of
personal reviews and feedback, working
with younger bosses when you
are a part of senior management is all about
doing things together.
“At a senior management level, it's
all about collective responsibility,“
says 63-year-old Tapan Bose, who is
currently retired and working on
contract with the SP Jain Institute as a
Project Advisor. In the past,
he has worked in senior management positions
with a few IT
multinational companies where he had
to report to a CEO younger than
him.He does, however, add, “It wasn't like I
had to take permission
for anything. Important decisions were
mostly taken as a group and the
whole process was objective-driven, based on
responsibility and
accountability, so age had nothing to
do with it.“
In today's competitive world, it's not
that easy to be at the top and
Employees across the spectrum realise
this. While younger bosses have
to work a little harder than their older
counterparts in order to earn trust
and credibility, it's often smooth sailing
once they have succeeded in
doing so. As long as a manager is good
at his job, manages his team well
and is willing to learn from others, he
usually earns the respect of
employees. “I used to make sure I did
my homework before we met
prospective clients,“ says Saurabh.
“We had all the answers to their
questions and that would stump them because
they did not expect this
from such a young guy. But the team saw this
and it increased
their confidence in me too.“
With over 65% of India's population
under 30, it almost seems natural
thatyounger people are increasingly taking
up managerial roles.
The great news is that their
colleagues don't see this as a threat or
a disadvantage. Age, it seems, is just
a number, after all.
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MM4SEP15
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