How To Handle Old-School Bosses

Not everything about old-school people is nauseating. There are old truths that can only get passed down by them in the prescribed format, lest they arrive in a harmful manner. In recipes, the trick could be hidden in the type of pan or flame and only the older guys know it.

The pressure to act with the times is often high but the smart bosses know when to apply a blended approach and when to take the team ahead of the curve.

Old schoolers are maintained by comfort levels. The only person who craves change is a wet baby discomforted by the contents of their diapers. So, bosses won’t let go that fast. The energy levels from below are always very high and they need to be correctly directed somewhere. Bosses who are stuck with old tools or methods sound like the same not so golden oldies that they play in their cars.

Bosses who stick to principle are flexible with the way things get done. Those who maintain a religious regime around how things get done with no regard for principles, often become rigid for nothing. This is why some bosses agree with you on what needs to get done then they leave you to achieve it. Others want to prescribe the only way of getting it done.

The proper old-school boss is governed by two things. The fear of the unknown, and the fear of being outshone by juniors. Many will control the amount of knowledge or resources available to you when executing your work.

To overcome such hurdles, it is prudent of you to employ the rocket principle. It does not state anything in particular. But it is known that before a rocket can successfully head to the moon it must rotate with the earth along its orbit to gather enough momentum to then shoot out of the earth’s gravitational pull towards its target.

Everything is moving at the same time around the sun. the earth is moving at high speeds around the sun and is also rotating on its own axis to give us day and night. The moon too is moving and therefore this calls for the most efficient way of launching the rocket so that fuel usage is minimized as focus on the target is maintained with great accuracy.

On the old school boss, one must time their way around them. Get to understand them well enough for you to win their confidence and then use their momentum to bring in change albeit at a comfortable pace for them. Going with their momentum overcomes their fear of the unknown. And working out things with them helps overcome the fear of being outshone by juniors.

They can remain old school but you can achieve your objectives while working for them. Always remember that something in the change matrix must be familiar to them for you to drive much-needed change around an old-school crowd. Serenade them with old music then enthuse them with offerings in the market around new office gadgets. Make their factory settings your allies and then get to win them over easily.