Waves of veteran news managers are taking buyouts and leaving newsrooms. Younger journalists are stepping up to take their place. Among the many challenges these greener managers face is figuring out how to lead people who have more journalism experience and more life experience than they do.
Often, young managers fear the worst, assuming that the vets are intractable, unteachable and chronically unhappy. Now, I'm not going to say that some old newsroom hands aren't feeling put-upon these days. Watching the publications they loved wither, hearing that their skill sets are no longer sufficient, or being called arrogant or out-of-touch when they talk about quality as they've always defined it -- can take a toll.
In spite of that, there are veterans who still love what they do. Love chasing a good story, shining light on villains/heroes or feeling they've simply made someone just a little smarter today.
If you're a young manager working with veteran journalists, don't assume they don't want to learn new skills, need feedback or won't change anything. If you start with those assumptions, you'll defeat yourself.
Try assuming that you are
their agent. Your job is to help them do their best work. So listen to them. What are they proudest of? Honor that; don't dismiss it as living in the past. Try to build on it.
Understand that they may have anxiety about learning new skills. They may express it at first as criticism: "Who needs this multi-media foolishness. Just tell a good story!" Let 'em vent -- within reason -- but explain your role is to help them get a few new tools. You want them to succeed in this changing environment, with its increased expectations.
Remember, their learning anxiety is best addressed with training that's personalized to the way they learn. Want them to learn to post to the web? Some may prefer reading instructions about the content management system. Others need hands-on, one-on-one sessions. As you are holding them to performance standards, do your best to help them get the right training to succeed.
Remember, you got your job because you're smart. Smart enough to know that you have something to learn from the vets and as you build trust with them, they'll soon be learning from you, too.
If you don't believe me, listen to a genuine graybeard, Mike McGraw of the
Kansas City Star, and investigative and special projects reporter, reporting coach, and Pulitzer winner. I captured his thoughts on this SuperVision video:
As a child prodigy I kept my eyes and ears...
