How Do You Get Others to Take You Seriously as a Young Leader?

By Chris Penttila

Jonah Ansell is co-founder of Rivalfish.com, a 3-year-old online sports merchandise company based in Chicago. Its products play up the rivalry between teams. “We’re taking the whole ‘us vs. them’ mentality to the world of sports,” says Ansell, 24.

Being a young leader comes with its own sense of rivalry, however. Ansell remembers making a presentation to a large company as Rivalfish was getting off the ground. The Rivalfish team wore dark suits and ties, and they came armed with a 14-page overview of their business model. They sprinkled their talk with all kinds of industry jargon.

Then the feedback rolled in. “Some people said, ‘Well, you clearly know all the terms,’ ” Ansell says. “It was almost like that was a way to say we know the language, but the actual progress we made from this wasn’t as tangible.”

Ansell realizes he downplayed his youth and did a lot of posturing. “We felt we had to play this role, like this abstract notion of what it meant to be running a business,” he says. “In our industry, it kind of pushed us away from people. People saw these hotshot kids as opposed to actual down-to-earth kids who had a great idea.”

Young leaders bring a deep knowledge of certain market segments, but they often think they have to know everything. Then they fake it to save face. In the process, they lose credibility. “Young people get caught in some kind of mythology about leaders,” says Allan Cohen, a professor at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, who has advised young leaders for years. “Instead of identifying that they’re being tested, they start trying to do heroic things to pass the test.”

If someone is testing you, ask politely what this person is after. Is he or she testing your depth of knowledge? Doubting your ability to lead? Naming the game “is an act of incredible power. It says, ‘I’m strong, but I don’t have to have the answer. I just have to identify that there’s something going on,’” Cohen says. In the process, you’ll gain credibility.

Don’t discount the power of first impressions either, warns Joe Swinger, author of Leave Your Nose Ring at Home: Get the Job You Want by Creating a Powerful First Impression. High-octane energy, a sense of confidence and engaging friendliness are qualities that will attract others to your leadership abilities. “It’s tough to look down on people who are doing the best they can,” he says.

It seems counterintuitive, but understanding your dependence on others is at the center of gaining authority. Being flexible helps, too. “If young people can get over the idea that they have to always seem to be in control, then they’re off and running,” Cohen says. “All leadership calls for some balance between listening to ideas from below, pulling things from people, letting things bubble up and occasionally driving from above.”

These days, Ansell acts his age when he makes presentations, and it’s making a difference: Rivalfish has landed partnerships with three top NCAA companies.

“When we embraced [our youth], we got a lot farther,” he says. “Accept who you are. Understand where you are.” In other words, just be yourself.