More than a decade ago, popular British TV programmes featured chief executives working in disguise on the shop floor. Undercover Boss on Channel 4 and Back to the Floor on BBC Two provided bosses of underperforming companies a vantage point to spot where things might be going wrong.
Our own retail legend, the late Feargal Quinn of Superquinn, always believed that to succeed, managers should remain close to the customer by regularly spending time on the shop floor. At one stage he created pins with the acronym YCDBSOYA or “You can’t do business sitting on your armchair”.
Perhaps, it is time for all businesses, not just retailers, to get back to basics when it comes to the younger generation. Everyone over the age of 40 should have a mentor under 30 says Tammy Darcy, founder and chief executive of the Shona Project, which works to empower young people.
“The world of work is changing so much. The older and more senior you are, the less connected you are to what’s going on with younger people and your customers.”
Those under the age of 30 exist in a more socially complex, faster moving and globally interconnected world than their older managers or service providers. This “anxious generation” of digital natives use social media, AI and visual tools to communicate every day. We have so much to learn from them, yet entry- and junior-level voices go largely unheard in the workplace and in society. Ignoring their potential and point of view is an expensive mistake.
Reverse mentoring
Top leaders are too often removed from what is happening at different levels of the organisation. Reverse mentoring – where a junior person mentors a leader on issues of strategic and cultural relevance – is an insightful tool that can highlight skill and knowledge gaps and inequalities.
Successful leaders such as Jack Welch of GE realised the importance of addressing the generational technology gap as far back as the 1990s when younger members taught older staff about the internet. Today, reverse mentoring is used as a way of reinforcing an “always learning” culture and building diverse, innovative teams that are equipped to handle unknown challenges ahead.
Reverse mentoring is not easy to implement. It requires a change of mindset from the traditional view of a leader as someone who must have all the answers.
“My job is to have all the right questions, not all the answers,” says Darcy, who uses this technique regularly. “We need to be very clear about how we communicate. We need to constantly ask for feedback and give younger people a sense of ownership. The way to get the most out of them is not to manage them, it’s to build a culture and organisation where they’re challenged and happy.”
Team members under the age of 30 are very interested in the impact their work is having and in feeling heard.
“In terms of career progression and retention, there’s a big generational gap in terms of attitudes to work. We need to understand their mindsets and challenges and understand their experiences,” say Darcy.
Structure
When using this technique, structure is incredibly important. The senior manager needs to be well prepared, with an agenda for each meeting. Their job is to listen and learn from the responses of the younger person.
“Older people tend to start controlling the conversation so framing it is important. Come with a list of what you want to talk about and ask for feedback. Go in with prepared questions so you don’t go into that mode of talking down to them,” says Darcy.
“You also need to depersonalise the questions or you’re asking them to be too vulnerable. Don’t ask ‘What do you need/think?’ Ask ‘what do we need to do, as an organisation, to be better?‘. They tend to be more honest when you frame it like that. They’ll speak up for others more quickly instead of themselves,” she says.
If team members see that their voices are heard and it’s impacting change, they’re more likely to speak up.
“You need to be really intentional with the language, don’t be defensive,” says Darcy. “Make sure you praise them by saying ‘I really loved what you said’ or give them credit by saying ‘this came from a great idea that so and so had’.”
Reverse mentoring can also be used to actively address inequality of opportunity.
One large multinational used reverse mentoring as part of a black-talent programme designed to address promotional gaps for minority groups. The highly structured programme allowed for one-to-one monthly meetings with the sponsor and peer-to-peer meetings between black talent and between the senior managers.
Issues brought up during these sessions became questions to explore as a group and created opportunities for more in-depth discussions between team members.
Well designed, thoughtful programmes such as these allow challenging yet constructive conversations and a better understanding of others’ perspectives. The younger participants also get a glimpse “behind the curtain” to experience leaders’ mindsets: how to prioritise, navigate people, politics and ways to structure meetings.
One of those who took part found it positively changed the trajectory of her career within the organisation. Her white male sponsor actively coached her to push for a big promotion she would never have considered, made introductions to key people and opened up new project opportunities for her internally. He put her on people’s radars who never would have heard of her otherwise.
Listen closely
Darcy believes that younger staff are not the only ones to personally benefit from these programmes.
“The more I leaned into this mindset, the better a leader I became. They’re sharing advice with you because they care. You need to be good with feedback and give them credit for their ideas. They want to feel heard and that it’s not performative on your part.”
A listening leadership style requires a curious mindset and an intentionality for the culture you want to create. This includes maximising the potential of everyone on your team, regardless of their job level or background. Teams cost money and if individuals don’t feel safe enough to speak up or to contribute beyond the basics, then you’ve lost a valuable asset.
A culture that prioritises active, respectful listening has many benefits including innovation, teamwork and increased productivity.
“The best ideas are going to come from the people who are doing the work every day with customers and clients. If they don’t feel they can bring it to you, then that’s a problem. Leadership can be so disconnected so listening to everyone makes solid business sense,” says Darcy.
[ The most annoying thing about young people at workOpens in new window ]
In business, things are changing faster than ever so team cohesion at all ages is key to continued success. “When you build a culture of curiosity and open conversations, you’re boosting the confidence and resilience of all the team and letting them see a clear pathway within the organisation.”
This also helps to spark a culture of innovation. When people feel psychologically safe, they feel a sense of community and are more likely to come up with new ideas and push to see them enacted.
Darcy says: “If they feel their voices matter then their confidence really booms. Now they’re knocking on my door with brilliant ideas. How amazing is that?”
Margaret E Ward is chief executive of Clear Eye, a leadership consultancy. margaret@cleareye.ie
