6 surprising reasons younger managers perform best

“He doesn’t have a lot of experience managing people. Do you think he can do the job?” This is a phrase we hear more frequently as organisations fill the vacancies retiring Baby Boomers leave behind. Recently, a younger friend told me his experience of being hired after receiving his graduate degree. Most of the team he would manage had been working for the organisation for more than 10 years and were his seniors by approximately 20 years. Some of them expressed frustration about being managed by someone so young and inexperienced. Were their fears grounded? How effective are newly appointed managers compared to the older and more seasoned folks they replace?

Frankly, being an older boss myself, I assumed veteran managers would prove to be the more effective leaders. But the data surprised me. In a recent article for Harvard Business Review my colleague Jack Zenger and I explored our database of more than 65,000 leaders and looked more deeply at managers who were 30 years of age and younger (455 leaders) and compared them to an older group of leaders over 45 years of age (4,298). Once we separated the two groups, we looked at the distinguishing characteristics of each.

When comparing groups, we strive to make them as similar as possible. But by the very fact they were promoted to managerial positions at a relatively young age, we realised that those in the younger group were primarily high potential achievers. It is not common to be elevated into a managerial job at such a young age. Of the younger group, 44% ranked in the top quartile on overall leadership effectiveness when compared to all leaders in our database. In contrast, the older group contained only 20% who were in the top quartile. In all, the older group was a combination of leaders who were exceptional, more that were good and an expected percentage who needed improvement.

When we looked at the 360 data of the younger and more seasoned managers we found the younger group was rated more positively on every one of the 49 items. This is both surprising and excellent news that indicates there are talented young leaders in our organisations who will be capable of stepping into key roles.

Millennial manager

The notion of a ‘millennial manager’ is likely to draw eye rolls from Gen X-ers and Boomers alike.

Are we really going to trust important business decisions and organisational growth to a 20-something who can’t eat breakfast without Snapchatting a pic?

Well, we should, new research suggests.

According to a study conducted by leadership development consultancy Zenger/Folkman, younger leaders are rated significantly more effective than their older counterparts.

The researchers collected 360-degree feedback (from superiors, peers, and direct reports) on 456 managers age 30 and younger and 4,344 managers age 45 and older. Results showed that the younger managers ranked more positively on ‘every single one’ of 49 leadership behaviours.

Writing in ‘The Harvard Business Review’, Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, CEO and president of Zenger/Folkman, identify six key areas where younger managers shine:

1. They welcome novelty. Zenger and Folkman say it’s possible that younger managers’ relative lack of experience means they’re more optimistic about the changes they propose and more willing to be the ‘champions of change’.

2. They’re inspiring. When it came to motivating others to do their best work, younger managers came out on top again. The authors say that older managers tend to lead by “pushing,” while younger managers often lead by ‘pulling’.

3. They’re receptive to feedback. Younger managers ask for feedback more often than older managers, and they try to act on it.

4. They’re always trying to improve. Younger managers are constantly looking for new ways to work smarter and produce higher-quality work. The authors say that’s possibly a result of having less attachment to the past than older managers.

5. They’re focused on results. Compared to older managers who have been with a company for a while, younger managers are less likely to accept the status quo. They’ll do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

6. They set stretch goals. Younger leaders are less fearful than older leaders of falling short when they set the bar high. As a result, they inspire their team to accomplish challenging tasks.

(Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Taken off the internet)