With every passing year, India gets younger.

This demographic dividend means that the average

age continues to drop in Indian firms. When each fresh batch of graduates join, the previous lot
of 20-somethings are asked to lead teams at a younger age than their predecessors. This creates
challenges - for team leaders, their managers and older team members. So, how should each
stakeholder deal with this phenomenon?

If you are young and have been promoted to manager, know that it is only the beginning. Apart
from your area of expertise, you will now have to deal with the people who work under your
supervision. From absenteeism to appraisals, hiring and firing and from being 'one of us' to being
'one of them', there will be new challenges. You will have to deal with polarised personalities,
ambitions and agendas, while having to take responsibility for everything.

Begin by learning about your new role by observing. Talk to each team member individually and
be sure you know more about each person than anybody else in the organisation. Plan out your
day to reserve time for this. Try to understand each person, his motivation and ambitions. Learn
to enjoy being involved with people. Keep your own emotions and troubles out of the
communication with your team. Be consistent in your logic and behaviour. Be the team's biggest
supporter to keep them going when the chips are down. You set an example with your energy.

Even while you build relationships, keep an eye on team goals and tasks. After you learn about
your new role, identify the goals for the year and make a plan. Along with the team plan, chart
out a growth path for each member. Discuss these plans so that each team member is aware of
his role. Be honest with yourself about your shortcomings. If you are weak on something, make
sure someone has it covered.

The next step is to devote time to developing relationships with stakeholders outside your team.
This includes bosses, parallel teams, clients and vendors. Periodically schedule time to review
and measure the progress of the team. If all of this sounds too much to do, it would do well to
learn the art of time management.

Are you an experienced employee reporting to a new 20-something manager and facing the
challenges created by the age dynamics? As long as you do not have a fundamental problem with
this status, you can work things out. Start by respecting the skills and expertise the young
manager brings to the table and make it easier for him to respect your experience. Understand
that he may have a method and style of working that is different from your previous supervisors.
Adapt to his communication preferences for, say, e-mail to meetings as you would adapt to any
new manager. At the same time, do not copy him to identify with his age. You are valued for the
inputs that come with experience. When the opportunity arises, learn from what he has to offer
and enhance your value within the firm. Consciously avoid competing with him since it distracts
you from the tasks you have to complete. Finally, do deliver the results that are expected from
you and make sure that you communicate your progress to your manager regularly. Eventually,
that is all that matters to both your career and his.

If you are the manager of a young team leader, then you are as responsible for his success as he
is for the success of his team. If the work place offers a formal training program for new
managers, make sure that the young leader participates. Either assign a senior team leader as a
mentor or guide for the first few months or take on that role yourself. Most times, the young
manager will learn from observation. So give him a chance to work with and observe other team
leaders and his mentor solve problems and deal with people. Make sure he understands what is
expected of him and knows that he is accountable for his own and his team's performance just as
he is expected to hold his team members accountable for their performance.

The average age of workers in any Indian company will be in the twenties over the next few
years. This means that there will be an incredible amount of energy available to power the
progress of the organisation. With the right attitude and contribution from you and your
colleagues, this could very well be the best time to be part of burgeoning corporate India.

COMMON MISTAKES BY YOUNG MANAGERS

Competing:
You were focused on competing with your colleagues to beat the clock or reach the target as an
employee. But, as manager you are required to help others succeed at their tasks.

Complacence:
Your method to earlier success is not entirely valid as a manager. Recognise that your role has
changed. Figure out your new roles and change your methods to go from a good team member to
a good team leader.

Being a copycat:
A new team manager courts disaster by copying the stern demeanor or the back-slapping ways of
the previous supervisor without possessing the appropriate personality or people skills. Use your
own unique people and problem-solving skills to develop your personal style.

Talking and not listening:

Many managers offer opinions and share views far too often. A wiser option is to spend time
getting team members to talk about their problems and requirements. Listening will help figure
out what works and what requires attention.

Dealing with management:

A manager cannot afford to shun responsibility and an important responsibility is to deal with the
management. So step up and work closely with your manager to figure out priorities and
communicate the team's needs and achievements.

The writer is CEO, Quetzal Verify, an HR solutions company started by four IIM-Ahmedabad
graduates.
HOW TO INSPIRE YOUR TEMA ON DAILY BASIS.

The best managers are always those who have the ability to lead their team by personal example.
It is one of the hardest skills to master - but get it right and the results will be well worth all the
effort.

When you look at a team or a group from the outside it’s easy to spot the difference between an
inspirational leader and one who has to rely on using strong-arm tactics.

If a manager is constantly having to check on people’s work and is chase his or her staff, then it
is a sure sign that something is going wrong.

A good manager will have a fully committed group of people behind him or her who understand
the importance of working together as a unit towards a shared goal and aims.

To get to that position the very best managers need to be able to inspire those around them and
the only way to do that is to lead to by example.

In any walk of life and in any sector one of the first things a good manager should do is to
demonstrate that they fully understand the skills and expertise needed to carry out the work. That
is not the same as the manager rolling up their sleeves and doing the task themselves, it’s simply
about fully understanding the work and how people should go about it.

Secondly, the best leaders will expect commitment and hard work from their staff but they also
have to demonstrate the same level of dedication. If you are expecting people to go that extra
mile for you then you have to be with them every step of way.

Good communication should also be at the heart of everything a good manager does. The very
best leaders are the ones who can describe clearly to their team members exactly what is
expected from them.

Communication is always a two way process which means as well as expressing yourself, if you
want to win over staff then you have to be able to listen to people and take on board their views
and opinions.

For a team to function properly everyone needs to know they will receive the same kind of
treatment. There should always be a level playing field, and if you have favourites then you will
be asking for trouble and cannot expect any kind of loyalty in return.

Finally and perhaps most importantly of all, one of the key qualities when it comes to leadership
is the ability to be decisive under pressure. Leadership is all about making decisions and sticking
to those decisions. When a crisis comes along one of the worst things you can do is doing
nothing at all.
Not everyone will make the right decision every time but appearing indecisive at critical
moments can fatally undermine your position as a leader.

Inspiration is not all about making great speeches and being a tough taskmaster. It is more about
leading from the front and showing your true mettle when it matters the most.

Thoughts
1. "Individual commitment to a group effort--that is what makes a team work, a company
work, a society work, a civilization work." --Vince Lombardi
2. "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." --Michael
Jordan
3. "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct
individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows
common people to attain uncommon results." --Andrew Carnegie
4. "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." --Helen Keller
5. "Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to
overcome our need for invulnerability." --Patrick Lencioni
6. "I invite everyone to choose forgiveness rather than division, teamwork over personal
ambition." --Jean-Francois Cope
7. "None of us is as smart as all of us." --Ken Blanchard
8. "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is
success." --Henry Ford
9. "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." --Henry Ford
10. "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the
team." --Phil Jackson
11. "Collaboration allows teachers to capture each other's fund of collective intelligence." --
Mike Schmoker
12. "It takes two flints to make a fire." --Louisa May Alcott
13. "Unity is strength. . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be
achieved." --Mattie Stepanek
14. "To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You
become selfless." --Mike Krzyzewski
15. "The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in
unison." --James Cash Penney