The Hindu Business Line : Are you reporting to your best buddy?

Give your young boss-friend a chance at leadership. It isn't about who is older or more experienced. Doing the right work for the right reasons is what matters.

As we huff and puff our way through shorter deadlines, faster workflow and tripled goals, the last thing we want is to have an inter-personal problem erode our enthusiasm.

The pace of change is usually dictated by the needs of the business and the ability/willingness of the group to embrace it.

I am often surprised at the vehemence with which inter-personal problems at the work-place spiral into irreconcilable splits.

Managing people is a topic that has been beaten to near coma. Every management pundit, armchair strategist, analyst, executive coach and mentor has already had his or her say. In truth, there is little to add to what has been said since Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman wrote First Break All The Rules.

But the world of work does have a few aftershocks when a seismic upheaval similar to our tsunami happens in the form of a colleague or friend assuming boss status.

Jeyakumar and Sunil - his next door neighbour - were pals who hung out together during their undergrad days and stayed in touch for a long time later - even after they went their separate ways - Jeyakumar into his career as an officer with an MNC Bank and Sunil to do his full-time MBA in a top B-school.

Then something happened which changed the whole equation overnight. The life-changing event? Sunil got a job offer with the bank that Jeyakumar worked for - at a level higher than Jeyakumar's.

Today, Jeyakumar is floating his resume in the job market, looking for a `break' because he will not report into "a guy who I call machan and share a smoke with."

Intriguing! We hear about sudden transformation in corporate fortunes via lay-offs, out-placements, pink slips and their ilk, but when something unforeseen actually hits us, we are never ready for it.

I had this conversation with Jeyakumar when he came to meet us for a career option.

Jeyakumar: I am looking for a change mainly because I don't want the embarrassment of working for someone who is younger than me - and is just fresh out of B-school ...

Me: But how does that affect your career?

J: I can't stand the way he goes on about how he is going to completely change our department ... as if all that we did so long was baloney ...

Me: So, if you find that your new boss is fresh from B- school, brimming with new ideas for how he is going to change the department, why do you take it personally?

J: It makes me out to be a failure in life, right? As if I also ought to have been like him - done an MBA, and become an Assistant Manager on my first day at the job ...

Me: Don't you think he has certain skills, which he would have learned during his MBA?

J: How will that help me? My employers may find it useful, but as far as I am concerned, it's nothing but a slap on my face ... .

If you are chafing over the fact that your manager is younger than you are, it has little to do with him and a lot to do with your own disappointment in yourself. You expected to be farther ahead in your career by now. So what? His position as your boss is not a personal insult; it's just the way it is.

The more relevant issue that you should ponder over is this: why was that person put in the job? Does he have fresh ideas and a lot of enthusiasm? Does he have the leadership skills that a changing culture needs? As in Sunil's case, does he have a degree that many organisations today require for management positions?

You may say that it isn't fair to give more weight to a degree than to years of work experience.

It's debatable, of course. Companies argue that a degree implies a standard of intellectual accomplishment that enlarges your vision and can be used as a good base line from which to promote leaders.

Long-time, loyal employees disagree bitterly that they have been passed over for young freshers who are green behind the ears.

The truth lies somewhere in between. When an organisation acknowledges the benefit of acquiring a degree, it is usually a sign that it is trying to change its culture to be less inbred and more competitive.

The intention is often to bring in fresh blood to generate new approaches that will revitalise the company. If that decision is made in your company, you have a choice - start working on a degree, or reconcile yourself to stay at the level you are.

Railing against company policy or worse, against the incumbent, is rarely a career-enhancing move, whether you think it's fair or not.

A stonewalling strategy has every chance of frustrating the new manager.

Who do you think is going to win this battle? Even if he does try a few already "tried and tested stuff," he has been put there for that very purpose - to bring about a certain change.

The better idea would be to educate your new boss on some of the pitfalls to avoid. As long as both sides stay flexible, a blend of old and new should make the organisation and you stronger.

The pace of change is usually dictated by the needs of the business and the ability/willingness of the group to embrace it. It isn't about who is older or more experienced.

Doing the right work for the right reasons is all that matters.

As I end my discussion with Jeyakumar, he agrees to give his young boss-friend a chance at leadership. I am happy for Sunil, who does not know me to thank me, but I hope I don't meet him in similar circumstances.

(The writer is CEO, Avtar Career Creators, Chennai.)

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