I've been working with a video free lance artist the past couple of weeks. I love the guy. Eager to please, lots of great creative ideas and he has an outstanding eye through the lens. And he is relatively brand new to brand advertising. I could easily be his father but it would upset my wife.
It is easy for leaders to forget that they have accumulated a wealth of knowledge over the years and they must patiently share it with someone who is right out of college. Plus you have surrounded yourself with experienced people who know how you work and suddenly someone new enters the circle who is unaccustomed to the way in which you work, your nuances and verbal cues. And so you become frustrated that your new protege seems slow to follow your lead. Plus many leaders are type A personalities and patience is not one of their stronger character traits.
When you are working with someone new, begin by over explaining every detail of what you need. Leave no stone unturned. You are downloading a lifetime of knowledge and if you go into too much detail consider it a good review. Encourage follow up questions and be detailed with your answers and then probe to make certain you answered his question. Questions are a good sign he's not afraid to go one on one with the leader and you will accomplish far greater things together if he is not afraid of you. There is nothing worse then a co-worker who is intimidated by the boss.
Most importantly encourage and listen intently to his ideas. Younger people have an exciting and interesting way of looking at the world and sometimes it can be far more interesting then the old way. Plus if you can execute a combination of your thinking and his, he is going to be far more vested in the outcome as he will have some ownership in the idea.
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