As we coach in leadership, we’re learning that some leaders are noticing a disconnect of sorts in the workplace.
What we’re hearing is that managers who have decades of experience —but who are also several years away from retirement — aren’t always as engaged as managers who are in the early or mid-years of their careers.
Here are some ways to encourage higher engagement among those who are more senior:
1. Understanding why these senior managers aren’t currently engaged in the organization.
The most common reasons employees disengage from the workplace is not feeling valued or heard. When you understand the “why,” then you are better prepared to remedy the situation. Is it possible that your organization needs to work at building a culture of growth and happiness?
2. Taking steps to make senior managers feel valued.
When was the last time you asked about their leadership concerns? What about asking for input regarding operational or organizational decisions? Or how about giving them the opportunity to try something new? Make certain they know their hard work and ideas are valuable and that you trust them. Feeling heard is critical, which is why it’s worthwhile having one-to–one meetings to build a solid culture of engaged team members.
3. Inspire feelings of competence.
Offer challenges and the opportunity for ongoing professional development. Too often, organizations focus on providing younger employees with training and development courses. Feeling trustworthy and being given opportunities to learn, grow and try new things helps all employees feel they are valued. This holds as true in later stages of the career as in the early years. More senior managers may benefit from peer learning, leadership coaching or unleveling their skills, to give them confidence with newer technology. Pairing younger and older workers (called reverse mentoring) is another great way to help bridge gaps in newer skills, and offer younger team members mentorship in soft skills as well.
4. Recognize the employee engagement has to be an ongoing process at all career stages.
It should also involve more than just HR! A company-wide commitment to employee engagement will feature new opportunities for staff and encourage frequent communication and valuable feedback. The goal? To build a strong team by encouraging solid relationships and active listening.
5. When you coach in leadership areas, encourage employees to be themselves.
It’s important to feel they have potential and can be responsible for independent decisions. Remember that trying to collaborate with others can be very empowering. Conversely, when folks feel micromanaged, they will disengage. We’ve discussed before how organizations that have a coaching culture win big, and coaching works very well with veteran managers who don’t need to be directed at every step.
6. Provide leadership opportunities and meaningful work.
Allow people to try out leadership roles or positions where they have influence. How do they lead? Do they collaborate with others well? Have they got some influence over peers or subordinates? It’s important to find the emotional courage to make mistakes and learn from them. Let them feel the excitement of a new challenge, like collaborating with others or innovating. Remember that when folks feel they are being micromanaged, most will disengage.
7. Value age and experience.
There can be a tendency to embrace generational stereotypes. For example, valuing youth as cutting edge and more senior employees as nearing a “past due” or “best before” date. Every generation brings something different to the workplace. We speak of strength in diversity and can forget that this includes age and experience. For example, millennials may be very digitally savvy, but Gen X employees (born between 1965 and 1981) worked while technology took hold. Who will be more patient with a Baby Boomer who needs to build confidence with the digital world? Who has more lived experience to apply to the human aspects of business? What is the benefit of diverse perspectives and approaches?
Bringing more senior managers off the sidelines to participate more actively in the workplace is a valuable diversity strategy. It also allows them to use their decades of workplace experience to mentor or challenge the perspectives of rising leaders in different ways.
When you consider ways to coach in leadership roles, remember the value of generational diversity.
Coach’s Questions
How would having fully engaged senior managers benefit your organization? Do you perceive any biases toward employees from different generations? What would help older managers feel more engaged? What are the first steps you can take to accomplish this?
