Young managers are rated as the most competent
Managers aged 18-34 are assessed as the most competent, yet the number of young managers does not match the number who say they would like to have leadership responsibilities. Young managers are needed, not just now but also to ensure diversity at a management level in the future.
Are you ready to let the talented people at your workplace shine instead of you?
That’s the life of a manager, you see. When you choose to become a manager, you have to accept that you’re no longer the specialist. Instead, you need to be able to step up and see the bigger picture so that your employees have the best opportunities to fulfil their tasks.
“When you’re ready to let go of your specialised tasks that belong to your profession, you’re ready to take on the leadership role. Because leadership is a task, and there are methods and tools you can use that will make you a better leader – and that you can start using right now,” explains Karen Christina Elholm, Associate Professor at Cphbusiness and head of the Young Leader project.
Young people demand a more valuable work life compared to previous generations.
Unfortunately, it is often when there is no opportunity to lead in line with one’s own values that many people step away from the leadership role again. Karen Christina Elholm fully understands that people choose to leave a role where they can’t make the difference they had hoped for. But the younger generations’ views on work life are important for the future of workplaces that make room for values and real people.
We’ll miss you if you don’t start now
“We will lack competent leaders if young people with leadership competences don’t seek out management responsibilities. The young generation is strong and can, through their values, contribute to creating strong sustainable workplaces that focus on BOTH the bottom line and employee well-being,” explains Karen Christina Elholm.
As a young and (relatively) recent graduate, you have a huge potential to become just the kind of leader who improves the working lives of employees through values-based leadership. But you need to get started.
“It’s easiest to get off to a good start as a manager if you have the right personal attitude and if you have role models you can look up to,” explains Karen Christina Elholm.
We dive straight into these two elements, because they pave the way for everything else you can learn about management later on.
The personal mindset: You work as a manager
“You have to map out why you want to follow the leadership path. Because if you see a leadership role as a self-development project for yourself, you risk taking on the role so much that you feel like a human failure if you don’t succeed as a manager,” says Karen Christina Elholm.
But the two need to be separated. If, on the other hand, you approach leadership as a professional discipline, you have a much greater chance of succeeding in managing in a way that allows you to include yourself without jeopardising your self-esteem.
“Management is not about you, it’s about taking a step back and accepting that you are no longer the specialist in the department – you are the one who has to make sure that the specialists succeed in the best possible way with what they can,” explains Karen Christina Elholm.
The perfect role model must be made up of many
“Whether you can see yourself in management depends a lot on whether you have role models who can show you that it’s a possible path for you. But one person doesn’t have to be able to show you everything,” emphasises Karen Christina Elholm.
She explains that you can take inspiration from a number of role models. Maybe you have one manager who is a good listener and another who is good at driving projects forward in a positive way. Maybe your immediate manager is motivating, but not necessarily someone you can go to with all your challenges.
No one is perfect, and you don’t have to be to be a good manager. Instead, you can be inspired by anyone you think is doing a good job of leading and reflect on what they do that you like. This will give you a better picture of the toolbox you want to build for yourself as a manager.
Five tips for anyone considering becoming a manager:
You don’t have to solve everyone’s tasks and problems
As a manager, you should not step in and solve the difficult tasks for others, just as you should not know everything they can think of to ask. Perfectionism is harmful, also if you suffer from it as a manager.
Create a network
You can benefit greatly from creating a trusted space with other young managers who are starting out or are roughly as far along in their management journey as you are. The sparring and feedback you can get from others in the same boat will be invaluable over time.
Learn the basics yourself
In a study, Karen Christina Elholm found that it was often the very basic practical things that young managers wished they had learnt sooner. Especially leadership theory, conflict management and budgeting, they quickly realised they needed. Many of these things you can learn on your own without having to take a whole new degree programme. Sit down in the accounting department for a few days and learn from them. Listen to podcasts or audiobooks or read books on management – you know best how you prefer to receive your knowledge. There’s a lot of information out there.
Be the change you want to see
It may sound a bit long-winded, but most of us actually want to make a difference in the world or for others. As a leader, you can make a real difference to people and help bring new leadership paradigms into the labour market with room for people and value-based leadership.
It´s ok to say no
No matter how hard you try, there will be bad days and days when you have to make difficult decisions or disappoint employees. This is where your personal approach to the job plays a big role. You need to be able to differentiate yourself as a person from you as a manager in a way where you can be ok with saying no, shut out a bad day and not take your worries home with you.