They Wanted Your Job, Now You Lead Them: Leading People Older Than You Without Losing Their Respect
What happens when the person you are leading has more experience, more years, and maybe even wanted your job? This week, Jon Goehring and Coach Jim Johnson tackle one of the most uncomfortable situations a young leader faces: leading people who are older than you, and how to turn that tension into a genuine advantage.
Jon and Coach open with honest personal stories, including Coach taking over a program at 36 with two older assistant coaches who had both applied for the position he got. They share four practical strategies for navigating this dynamic with confidence and humility, starting with the non-negotiable power of leading by example every single day.
From there, they dig into why respecting the experience of older teammates, even when you hold the title, is one of the fastest ways to earn their respect in return. Jon shares a candid reflection on how early in his own career he let leadership go to his head, and what that cost him relationally and why checking your ego is not optional for young leaders.
Coach walks through the art of building one-on-one relationships with experienced team members, asking the right questions, genuinely valuing their input, and knowing how to handle both the ideas you use and the ones you do not in a way that keeps trust intact. Jon closes with a compelling case for involving older teammates in the decision making process and always explaining the reasoning behind your calls, whether in the boardroom or even at home with aging parents.
The episode ends with a powerful conversation about reverse mentoring and how the best leaders recognize that everyone around them, regardless of age or title, has something to teach them.
Whether you just stepped into a role leading people older than you or you want to sharpen how you handle experience gaps on your team, this episode gives you the tools to lead with both authority and genuine respect.
Connect with Jon and Coach: limitlessleadershippodcast@gmail.com or find them on LinkedIn.
