#careertok #careeradvice #management #corporatelife

Here's what I've learned about managing people who are older than you. So I'm head of product at a tech company, I manage six product managers, and five of them are older than me. And I know that's not that unusual, but for some reason when I got put into the role, it made me a little uncomfortable. But since becoming a manager due to that and a handful of other reasons, I've kind of had to rewire my brain as to how I think about management. Typically, we think about management as someone who's over you. We even word it like that most of the time, like who's over you at this company. And since becoming a manager, it's like that's clearly not the case. I am a supporting role. I'm not driving the bus, and they are along for the ride. They're driving the motorcycle, and I'm in the little sidecar next to them. My job is to help them succeed at their job. That's it. It's not to tell them how to do their job or make sure they do it in a certain way. Not everyone will need the same level of support. Not everyone will need the same kind of support, but kind of framing it in that way has almost removed any power dynamics that may or may not have existed. So the point I'm trying to make is that like I thought there was this weird dynamic with age when I first got into the role because of my frame of management was wrong. I thought a man was like the one who showed whoever they manage, how to do everything. Which might be the case if you work at a subway, but in the corporate world, like in the professional world, that's just not the case. The person you're managing might be more experienced doing the job than you are, but you might have some strengths that they don't. So that's what it's about just figuring out. What's the dynamic of the relationship? Where can you support them in their role and help them be successful at their job?