So the career discussion is worth special consideration, even at this late stage of the man's development. For the senior employee, most speculation about him is over. Both he and his manager have a pretty clear idea of how his talents have matured in both rate and direction. Openings that are likely to occur are nearer at hand, and it is easier to estimate their requirements.
The basic question, then, "What do you envision as the best possible job for you two years from now?" has double importance. His answer gives you an idea of what expectation level the man still has for himself, and this, if it is reasonable, may suggest new positions for which he might qualify or changes in the current job that might offer more satisfaction from daily work.
That level of expectation might be for a lower-paid job, a less complex one, or one physically less demanding. If his reasons for the desired change are sound, they should certainly be honored and perhaps encouraged. The American image of a career that starts at the bottom, rises to some glorious peak, and then plateaus out is ridiculous in an age in which knowledge increases at such a rapid rate. A career curve that starts low, reaches some optimum for the individual, and then gently trails lower may in fact be much more livable. But this requires value changes so that careers can decline in responsibility, physical demand, and presumably monetary reward without loss of honor or the need to find face-saving devices. Since this vision of career progress has not yet been realized, to whatever extent the employee himself wants changes leading toward a less demanding situation, the manager will be wise to cooperate if possible.
Prestige and Recognition
Other cultures have done much better than ours in honoring their elders. There is a great need to find ways to give the senior employee some well-earned prestige and recognition for not only past but current accomplishments. At a time when salary increases may be difficult to support administratively, other forms of recognition become especially important.
There are often worthwhile community assignments that carry prestige and may be best suited to the mature, knowledgeable employee. Not only could he represent his firm well but he may meet others in similar situations that might be helpful in forming his retirement plans.
Asking the senior employee to chair certain internal meetings gives him a place of honor while others carry out the tougher, more demanding tasks on the program.
You might also name him deputy in your absence with responsibility to review mail and handle telephone requests. Ask him to substitute for you at certain meetings and report back the proceedings. Invite him to attend meetings in which his experience is useful even though his position in the organization might not qualify him. Awards of merit for special projects can be useful whether or not they carry a monetary honorarium. A small luncheon on his company anniversary date is in good taste and usually welcomed, as is an occasional casual invitation to lunch with you personally or as part of a small group. All these things tell him more plainly than words that he is still a valued member of the team. You might kid him or tease him if he starts reminiscing about the good old days or viewing the future with great alarm. Humor often works when impatience or sarcasm would destroy him.
There are some avenues to avoid as well. Don't load him with worthless assignments in order to give him a feeling of prestige. More than likely, he'll recognize their lack of value, and his confidence will be undermined rather than bolstered. Keep the percentage of special assignments within reason-20 to 30 percent of the total at the outside. If too many are given, the man is likely to feel (and be) outside the mainstream of the department's work. Finally, it is probably unwise to give a much older man the task of helping new, young college graduates make the transition to working life. The gap is too great. The pace of the older man is slower; he is likely to throw cold water on new ideas and dampen enthusiasm. Although there are always exceptions to the rule, limiting his circle of major influence to a group within 10 to 15 years of his own age is usually a sound idea.
All the foregoing suggestions in this article have been equally applicable to the young and the middle-aged manager to whom a senior employee reports. When the age gap is quite wide, however, the young manager often experiences special difficulties with the older man. They usually grow out of one of two extreme attitudes of his own. The first is the demonstrated or expressed notion that everyone past 50 is over the hill and ought to get out of the way for the good of the organization. The second is a feeling of hesitancy about how much he ought to ask of the older man, how much guidance he personally can give him, and whether the employee will accept him as his manager.
Get the facts on aging. If you find you hold such attitudes, logic alone won't change them. But you can help yourself by getting facts. Talk to a company physician, if one is available, to learn about the general effects of aging. In a specific case, ask the older employee to have a physical examination so that both of you have the recommendations of a doctor to guide you.
Next, make sure you and the man agree on the specific work he is to do, when he will do it, and how it will be measured. This will enable you to judge his performance on facts rather than on personal impressions gained during meetings.
If you find the association so unbearable that you're likely to be unable to conceal your feelings when the two of you are together, find someone in the office more tolerant to whom you can entrust the personal contact function of your job in this one case. Just acknowledge that this is time-consuming, and make it a recognized part of his job for which there will be some reward if the work is done well.
This delegation of responsibility may seem a mistake to many. Indeed, in most cases, a young manager should be able to respect his associates and show it. But occasionally, for many deep-seated reasons, a young man just cannot contain his impatience. He may simply take away all the joy of working from his older colleague, who may not at this point be able to make a job move as a younger man could. When this happens or is likely to happen, a go-between should be considered, mainly on humane grounds but with the good of the organization in mind as well.
Deal with personal insecurity. If you display insecurity in handling an older associate, you probably accentuate any feelings he may have had that you were not ready for the job. So again, get sound medical advice, both general and specific, and base your demands on it. Next, assume consent in the relationship. Take it for granted that the man recognizes you were selected and he was excluded for sound reasons. Assume he wants and needs your facilitating work to help him get his job done.
If you are reasonably sure he feels he should have had your job, invite him to express this to you openly. Say to him, for example, "John, I'm concerned about your career. Did you feel that you should have had this job?" Then be quiet and let him express his feelings. You may be surprised and relieved to learn that he had no such thought at all. Or he may feel that it's a young man's world and that unfair decisions are made on the basis of age alone. It is probably best for him to get this view fully articulated. When he appears to be finished, you might want to say something like this: "John, I'm sorry you feel this way, but I'm glad you've shared it with me. Now the important thing to do is work together to set up your job so that it displays your talents to their best advantage. I'll need your help to do this, so let's both think it over and sit down together soon to work out a plan that's solid. How about it? How soon can we get together?" This sort of discussion should place you in a consultative, supportive role that should eliminate much of the uncertainty you felt earlier. It also gives John a status he can live with.
