If you are a team leader, how would you deal with staff members who are older than you?

• Respect and appreciation
• The smile
• Recognition of the expended effort 
• Flexibility
• Overlook gaffes
• Offering assistance
• The appointment of one of them as a spokesman for the group
• Involve them in the solution of problems
• To take advantage of their experiences and skills
• Respond better to their aspirations
• Ease the pressure is as much as possible
• Encouraging them to share their experience with younger members
• Used them to calm the situation in the case of internal conflicts
• Listen to their testimony, their views and suggestions,
• Solve their problems at work
• They should be treated, special treatment
• Motivate them by motivations and advancements
• Encouraging them by upgrading and progress
• Using them as models for the rest of the team members

If I am team leader I deal with older members and others with respect if they do their jobs.

Thanks 

I support the answer given by my colleague Ahmed Haider 

Thanks for the invite.

A team leader has to conduct in an ethical & professional manner, particularly when dealing with senior people.

In a professional environment, one should not treat others based on their age. A professional leader will treat all his team members with respect and honor their dignity regardless of any demographic factors. 

Respected

And appreciation

And take advantage of their expertise

Thanks for invitation -

( Same are my bigger brothers - Same are my father ( iF bigger than this old !

As a supervisor ,I have dealt with these scenarios a lot .with these experiences I have made my own recipes for people management. And am far success in it till now.

Regarding your query,

• Handling any situation with positivism (Not excess, over confidence will do harm)
• Greet them with a laugh,lend them your ears and they are definitely gonna give you respect.
• Give their value for long term experience in the company,make them feel I am getting respect than the newcomers.
• Correct them personally and do it in a way that ,they will do the correction and try to improve themselves.
• Appreciate them in front of everyone.
• Discuss them the possibility of cost reducing and efficiency /productivity increasing to them.

Never ask about another worker's details to them,or about them to others.(IMPORTANT)

Feel free to ask if you have any particular situation to tackle regarding the querry.

1. "Don't be the boss. At least, don't appear to be," said a friend recently employed in a managerial position with a few older employees on his team. Remember, old habits die hard. Give them time to get used to you and your leadership style and till then, just focus on the task at hand. 

2. Don't be dismissive, help them learn new skills. Just because they can't tweet or operate the Bloomberg terminal like the back of their hand doesn't mean they don't want to or are incapable of it. 

3. They've survived the business for a reason and have probably come across bottlenecks you haven't, use their experience.

4. Understand differences in lifestyle. If they're excellent employees but have to go home to their family instead of a happy hour, cut them some slack. Try reorganizing social events to be inclusive.

5. Validate them. When making a decision, seek their perspective even if you decide differently. Show them their opinion counts and when you can try and explain why the final decision works best. This isn't a token exercise.

6. Know what motivates them. They may prefer better benefits over small bonuses, or they may want flexible hours. Keep it realistic and try and see where you can match the company's and employees expectations.  

7. Talk to your employees. It's good practice in general to communicate with your team. Constantly brief them on changing expectations and be specific. Don't assume that they will know what you want because they've been around a while.

8. Don't' be intimidated by them. When you make a decision, stand firm, don't keep second-guessing yourself. They will respect you for it.

9. Introduce a mentorship program, whether its the older employee's mentoring younger ones or interns. You can even partner with organizations and school if the employees are willing, not only is their experience being put to good use the company would also build some good karma.

10. If older employees do step out of line, reel them in just like the rest. You don't need to give them a dressing down in front of their colleagues but in that regard, treat them like everyone else on your team.

Thank you for the invitation. Mutual respect and appreciation, and benefit from the experience.

I agree with Mr. Nadjib Rabahi's insightful submission. You need to behave in the most professional manner, give respect & maintain integrity at all times. Remember "experience comes with age" thus you have to use these persons to offer their experience & expertize to achieve more & more. Therefore treat them like they deserve & don't be tempted to think that they are "old & useless" or that you are the greatest because you hold an office higher than theirs, this can't take  forward.