My colleague Nina has posted about feeling like a kid because of some things that happened at work this week. I had been planning to follow up with her anyway about how things were going with her new role on my team, but some specific things happened as a result of our intranet re-launching this week so my boss and I took the opportunity to talk to her about her role, our role as a group and how we can best approach some of the things we're trying to accomplish.

We have a different perspective on a few things, so it could have been a tense conversation. I actually think it went quite well. But the point of this post isn't to highlight what Nina got out of it, but what I did.

I haven't been in my role all that long - I think I just hit my six-monthaversary - and I'm still finding my way around managing a decent-sized, diverse team. Diverse in the types of roles they have, diverse in the types of people they are and diverse in the amount of experience they bring to our work. It's an ongoing learning experience for me and yesterday was one of the days that stands out.

Here's the thing. Not to overly stereotype us, but I'm a pretty typical Gen X and Nina strikes me as very much a Gen Y type. There are a lot of things about her approach to her work that make me really excited to have her on our team, but there are days when I feel like an old dog. A fuddy-duddy. (Yes, I actually said "fuddy-duddy." Like I said, I'm feeling old.) Because despite my revolutionary bent, there are young people in our organization, Nina included, that are revolutionaries on a whole other level. They have a tendency to be radical revolutionaries while I'm more of a realistic revolutionary.

The gap between the radical and the realistic is what I'm trying to bridge. Radical is not a bad thing. In fact, I'm trying to figure out a way to allow people like Nina and others to push farther. I fully recognize that I need to be pushed farther when it comes to certain things. And I'm more than willing to talk about those things. But there has to be a balance and some things are just a reality we're going to have to live with, at least for now.

That is going to be an ongoing leadership challenge for me, I think, but in the meantime my conversation with Nina has reminded me of a few things.

1. Just because someone is smart, keen and self-directed doesn't mean that person doesn't need you to connect with them on a regular basis. Everyone needs that bit of leadership and every leader needs to stay aware of what's going on for members of the team.
2. People need to feel a part of the team, even when their work is more independent.
3. Never assume that someone will know when something big is going on and this isn't a good time to push the envelope.
4. People need context - on the history of our work and on our place in the organization - especially when they're new.
5. Taking the time to ask what someone is thinking when you know they don't entirely agree with you can lead to healthy conversations and maybe avoid some stumbles.

So I'll take those thoughts away with me and ponder them some more, but this old dog is definitely looking forward to continuing to work with the kid and learning from each other.