Here’s a situation that’s ripe for conflict: A young star rises through the ranks to become a manager — and is now in charge of employees significantly older than him.

It’s a new twist on the issue of generational conflict and can result in a lot of battered egos. Older workers don’t think they should be taking orders from someone with less experience. And younger managers may view the other group as old-fashioned and unable to adapt.

But when a conflict arises, here’s some advice you can give both sides to help cool things down:

1. Don’t take it personally. Both the employee and manager need to know that misunderstandings are bound to occur, especially at first. However, they need to know it’s not personal and won’t last forever.
2. Give — and take — advice. Older workers may be reluctant to advise their boss — and likewise, younger managers may not want to take tips from a subordinate. That’s not good for the company — the employees likely have valuable experience they can share with the new manager.
3. Forget about style. Conflict often arises when employees and managers do things in a different — but still effective — way than the other side is used to. But stress the fact that it doesn’t matter how something is done, just how well it’s done.
4. Don’t make assumptions. Problems between generations are often there before the two sides even work together. That’s because both groups make assumptions about how the other will act. Instead, managers and employees need to view each other as individuals, not as stereotypes of their generations.

Tags: employees, generations, managers