Published November 2005

Family dynamics can enter
workplace picture when
Junior becomes manager

It’s the stuff of fiction and nonfiction, daytime and nighttime soaps. The family business provides all the material needed for drama, passion and comedy.

From a management standpoint, though, it is important to remember that it isn’t just family-owned businesses that are like that. All businesses contain characteristics of family life — its structure, relationships, stresses and joys. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can present some challenges.

Nowhere is that kind of challenge more visible than in situations where we have a young manager taking charge of a group made up mostly of senior, more experienced workers. Most of us were raised in families of one sort or another, and families are usually based on a seniority system: The parents are almost always older except in certain “divorce followed by trophy spouse” situations. The older ones are in charge, and that is the way things should be.

Whether we realize it or not, we bring our own family experience, with its notion of the way things should be, to the workplace. So when the company hires a young man or young woman to take over the shop or the group, and he or she is 10, 20 or even 30 years younger than most of the workers, there is something in us, instinctively, that says, “Whoa, this isn’t right.” We may not say it out loud, but it’s there.

There may be very good reasons for having someone younger take over some, or even all, of a business organization. Sometimes, in a family business, it is simply a matter of what management schools call “succession.” The son or daughter of the owner is being brought in to learn and take over the business.

In other cases, it is a matter of bringing in new skills and a fresh perspective. Many businesses face technological changes and competitive threats that are resistant to a “doing what we always do, but better” strategy. Sometimes, it is helpful to bring in someone new who is trained in different skills and will approach problems in an innovative way.

The situation with a young, inexperienced manager and a crew of mature, skilled workers presents challenges for everyone involved. Certainly, the manager wants to succeed and the workers want to keep their jobs — but there is the instinct that something isn’t right, and it can get in the way.

For the young manager in that situation, there are some things that can be helpful. The first is to remember that that instinct is there, to one degree or another, in you as well as in the older workers. Be aware of it in yourself and try not to overcompensate by being overly bossy and arrogant — a not untypical response, unfortunately — just to make sure that everyone knows that you are in charge.

As the young manager, you also need to be aware of that same, “this isn’t right” instinct in the older workers. To combat this most effectively, you need to reinforce another part of the familial structure: the protective and supportive instincts.

As the younger person in the team (family), clearly you cannot succeed on your own and will need the skills and experience of the older workers. The more they realize that you are dependent on them, the faster their initial reaction will fade into the background.

There are situations in today’s workplace where young managers have to deal with workers who are older, but have little or no experience in that particular operation. Even there, though, it pays to remember that we all carry that familial instinct. In that case, it should be expressed as needing the older worker to learn the skills so that the team and the manager can succeed.

If you are an older worker facing a new, inexperienced manager, it also helps to remember that we all carry the seniority instinct. But there is absolutely no way that the workplace will be improved by your whining about “being bossed around by some kid.” In this case, your first instinct is not your best instinct. Get over it, and remember that while you might not like it, your success is linked to the manager’s.

At first glance, the new manager may seem to be a hopeless assemblage of inadequacies, but if he or she fails, it is very unlikely that such a failure will make you look good. Your best strategy is to help him or her to succeed.

The workplace is a structured environment that is focused on business operations, but it contains important trace elements of our family relationships. The seniority-based authority instinct is just one of them. As a good manager, you can either get those relationships working for you, or they will work against you.

James McCusker, a Bothell economist, educator and small-business consultant, writes “Your Business” in The Herald each Sunday. He can be reached by sending e-mail to otisrep@aol.com.

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