Developing the leaders of the future can be a difficult task, especially as young people enter the labor force. In today's environment, we need to figure out how to make a young person's accomplishments count when they are working alongside older leadership.

Is there a struggle in your organization about the future of your younger workers? Here are some tips for the older leadership to help grow their younger workers.

The development game

Leaders in any organization must be willing to grow leaders for tomorrow. Young people look to older leaders for help in understanding the organization. All leaders both young and old can help each other.

  • Look throughout your organization to see who will make good leadership material.
  • Design programs that will hone those skills that will be needed for the future of the organization.
  • Give out assignments to prospective future leaders so they have a stake in the organization.

The value-added proposition

People are an organization's greatest asset. If you let young people just sit there with nothing to contribute, this will be a great detriment to an organization.

  • When you are making a hiring selection, determine in the interview process what value a candidate has.
  • A young candidate may not have everything right away, so look beyond the resume.
  • The character of the person is a great determining factor in the value he/she can add to an organization.

Learning to let go

Older leaders may have issues with young people getting a chance at leading, and they often do not want to let go. They may feel that their leadership is being threatened, and are no longer of value to the organization.

  • The upper leadership should sit down the older leaders and explain that they are of value.
  • The older leaders can be mentors to young employees. Mentoring builds consistency within an organization.
  • By letting go of some of their responsibility, older leaders can help build the future of an organization without comprising the current leadership.

The future of an organization depends upon developing its younger workforce. This is a good way for the legacy of the organization to continue. Both young and old employees can benefit from each other if they are willing to put aside the age differences.

Age should not be the determining factor. It should be what each person can contribute in helping each other along the way.