Managing people older than you

One of the questions that people have asked me, when they are thinking of going for a management job, is "What if my team are older than me? Will someone mind being managed by a person who's younger than them?"

In my experience what people of any age want from a manager is that they manage effectively, that they make it easy for everyone to do their best, and that they show respect for the people they are managing. If the manager focuses on clear outcomes, clear boundaries and the reasons for work being done well and to time, then whether they're older or younger is not very important.

Age is more important in some cultures than others; for some, the fact that a person is older indicates that they should be respected regardless of that they do. In many Western cultures this is not so common, and some groups can feel superior to older people, automatically assuming that they must be out-of-date. At work, however, in whatever culture, it makes sense to respect the experience and reliability that older people can bring, while valuing the energy and enthusiasm that can be brought by younger people.

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