Young persons who are placed in positions where they have to lead older persons consistently complain about the challenges that they face. Getting acceptance can be a drain on their productivity and the performance of the team.

Case studies of young persons being given the responsibility to lead their elders suggest that relying on Dominance and Influence as their preferred leadership style produced positive results.

A “I am just another member of the team” S-style approach seems to backfire as some elements who thought that they should have been given the position put up resistance. Others demand that the young leader earn their respect.

The C-style resort to using the authority of the position to get compliance fails to get the buy-in that makes all the difference in highly successful teams.

So, a demonstration of a willingness to use an iron fist carefully integrated with friendly outstretched arms seems to work best.