A young manager’s experience

Sep 07, 2009

AGGREY heads the Uganda bureau of a multi-media organisation and is not yet 40. But most of the employees he supervises are older than him. He has managed to do his role challenges notwithstanding, he says.

BY VISION REPORTER

AGGREY heads the Uganda bureau of a multi-media organisation and is not yet 40. But most of the employees he supervises are older than him. He has managed to do his role challenges notwithstanding, he says.

Challenges

Any managerial position comes with challenges, regardless of the manager’s age. You need to ensure that the team you lead is competent and committed to getting the job done and that they have the tools to do so.

Age would only be a factor if one was too old to have the strength to drive the caravan, or too young to have the wisdom to know which route to take.

Dealing with older employees, who are your subordinates
Older employees might have more experience or might be dealing with more peculiar issues than the younger people. The key is to be fair and honest when dealing with any of your subordinates.

When conflicts occur, especially in high-pressure environments like ours, the key is to demonstrate the authority of knowledge, not the authority of position.

Advice to young managers

You are only as old as you feel. If you are good at what you do, know what you want to achieve and can help other people achieve their individual goals while contributing to the common goals, then you must never let the date in your passport stand in your way.

However, you must always be willing to learn, must be courteous and must remember that the enthusiasm of youth must always blend with the wisdom of experience.

How did you get to the top?

I don’t think there is anything special about me. I just happened to start early – I started my first newspaper aged 8 – and found myself doing something I am passionate about.

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