Younger Bosses Of Older Workers

Life often imitates art.

Dennis Quaid's new movie, "In Good Company," is about a man in his 50s who suddenly has to deal with a boss in his 20s. And believe it or not, this situation is becoming more and more common, notes The Early Show correspondent Melinda Murphy.

She spoke with Michael Seaver, who was a 23-year-old college student when he started helping his dad out on a project at the computer company Novell in Provo, Utah. Within weeks, reports Murphy, the younger Seaver landed a fulltime job. And in a divison that had five managers over four quarters, Seaver became the youngest person ever to fill the post when he was made custom development manager of Novell's North American Consulting unit.

"I was lucky enough to get trapped in an airport with the vice president of (Novell's) North American Consulting...so I had his ear, exclusively, for a couple of hours," Seaver says.

"Some might think it's kind of cocky: You're 23 years old and telling the vice president how to run his company," Murphy pointed out.

"Well," Seaver laughed, "I think, part of the problem was, I was too young to know that I shouldn't have been doing that."

But it paid off. At the age of 24, Seaver became the boss, and every single person who worked for him was older, including Brian Amundson.

"Is it weird," Murphy wanted to know, "to work for somebody 13 years younger than you?"

"I've never really thought about it, because he is really my intellectual superior," Amundson conceded.

But, says Murphy, not everybody saw it that way.

"This one other fellow was pretty offended," Amundson says. "He told me, confidentially that, you know, he wasn't too pleased with the idea…"

"Of a young whippersnapper being his boss?" Murphy picked up on his thought process.

"Yeah," Amundson confirmed.

"Some people left because they were working for a kid?" Murphy asked Seaver.

"It was an influencing factor," he replied, "but I can't say that that's everything."

Seaver told Murphy some clients had a problem with his age, too: "The first time I meet 'em, I can tell that -- they're disappointed (that he's not older). I tried to buy clothes that I thought made me look older. I often leave on a trip, I talk to my wife about, you know, 'Does this suit make me look old enough?' " he said with a laugh.

Murphy points out that most in the department seem comfortable with Seaver.

Senior Software Engineer Larry Fisher was hired by him. At 53, Murphy says, Fisher is a year older than Seaver's dad, and he's been in computers for longer than Seaver's been alive.

The two met in a class Fisher was teaching.

"You start out as a teacher and now he's your boss?" Murphy asked.

"He's teaching me," Fisher marvels, adding Seaver is "a good boss."

Still, Murphy reports, there is definitely a generation gap.

Says Seaver: "Somebody talks about records or somebody talks about 'Gilligan's Island' or some show that I've never seen. And I just make a joke about how that was happening when I 'was in grade school,' and they laugh, and then we find a different metaphor. ...I have never played a record. ...(though) I've seen a record," he chuckled.

Mindsets are different in other ways, too. Seaver is at the beginning of his career. Fisher is near the end.

"I have been very sensitive about my age," Fisher admits, "because I'm the oldest guy in the group by far. And I've felt a little bit vulnerable, actually. ...You know, if you're going to lay off somebody, you're going to lay off the person who makes the most money, right?"

And Fisher's not alone.

Amy Glass, a senior facilitator at Brody Communications, teaches seminars on intergenerational management. She says demand for the class has exploded, increasing "tenfold in about two years" because, as baby boomers age, more and more young people are finding a fast track to management positions, but may be lacking the skills to manage other generations.

"You have to be able to step outside of your own comfort zone and say, 'Well, look: Maybe that doesn't translate for everyone. Maybe I can use different ways to connect with them,' " Glass says.

And to respect and be respected.

"What I often notice," Glass says, "is that, that little fear of not having respect, can really block them…from great relationships."

As for Michael Seaver, he thinks good management goes beyond respect.

"Management across the board is about finding a way to really love the people that work for you and finding a way to express that love in a way that -- that gets the message across that you really care about 'em," he asserts.

Of Seaver, Murphy says, "He's such a good guy, and smart as a whip! Since Seaver has been in the manager's position, the division has done very well, and is the only division not to have had anybody laid off.

"And get this: Seaver's dad still works for Novell, in a different division...but he sits in the office right next door to his son."