In 1783, William Pitt the Younger became prime minister at the tender age of 24. At the time, his youth left some rivals and commentators feeling unsettled. But Pitt went on to dominate British politics over the next quarter century. A 24-year-old prime minister would likely receive the same sceptical reaction today. But are we too hung up on age? If someone has natural leadership qualities, does it matter how old they are?
Not according to entrepreneur Jacob Hill, who launched his business, The Lazy Camper, when he was 19. The business offers a complete camping kit in one bag and also puts up tents for customers. Hill, now 21, is the managing director of the company, and employs temporary staff over the summer to help out during the busy season. "I'm the visionary for the business," he explains. "People need to realise it isn't about age. I feel like I've always been a natural leader in one way or another."
However, learning to manage people can be a process of trial and error. When Hill first became involved in business, aged 16, he realised that disciplining staff, especially when they are your friends, can be difficult. "It didn't work out because I didn't want to upset anyone," he says.
Some young people are able to hone their leadership skills before they enter the workplace. As a Royal Air Force cadet, Hill worked his way up to the top rank of the squadron.
Lydia Rochelle, 26, an account director and head of client services at PR agency, Byfield Consultancy, is also used to leading people. "I've always been put in leadership positions," she says. "I was head of school at prep school and head of house at senior school." She adds: "I'm quite fortunate that I come across older than I am." Rochelle manages a team of seven consultants, all but two are older than her. Having worked for a couple of organisations during her career so far, and experienced different management styles, she has learned which ones worked well. "I've had experience of having good managers and bad managers and I knew what kind of manager I wanted to be," she says.
Rochelle has been with Byfield Consultancy for two-and-a-half years. She joined when it was a smaller company and believes this helped open up opportunities for her to advance her career. Before her promotion in January 2014, her boss arranged for her to attend a management course at Cranfield School of Management and she also has a business coach. She says she has learnt to give constructive criticism and to address any problems with an employee's performance straightaway. "If there is an issue I address it with the person at the time," she says.
While experience can be valuable in managerial roles, it doesn't necessarily make that person a good leader, says Piers Linney, a dragon on the BBC's TV show, Dragons' Den, and co-chief executive of Outsourcery, a cloud service provider. "Experience is different to leadership. Leadership is about people. It's about motivating people to follow you where you want to go."
Having been involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures from a young age, Linney knows what it's like for people to be surprised by your age. "I've walked into meetings and people thought I was a courier," he says. "They didn't expect Piers to be me because I looked young. I've just got on with it. I don't worry about what people think."
Can young leaders in particular experience resentment from more experienced members of staff? "There's envy at any age," says Linney.
Colin Hudson, the director of career development at Cranfield School of Management, agrees that it's not always a problem. "You will find that the majority of people will want their manager to succeed." One way to get staff on side is making an effort to learn from them. "If you ask, listen and learn, that can take a young manager a long way," says Hudson. Be open if you don't know something. "A piece of advice given to me was, when you don't know, say you don't know. Being prepared to show your vulnerability is a sign of maturity."
He advises students to spend their holidays taking on a role of responsibility, for example with a sports club, where they will interact with people of all ages. Hudson also recommends that once in the workplace, young managers should put time aside to develop their management skills. "It's as much a part of the job as the technical aspects," he says. It's also crucial that they don't try to do everything themselves, that they develop a strong team where everyone plays their part, says Hudson. "The most common mistake managers make is trying to do it all on their own."
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