Recently, an old friend contacted VIM Executive Coaching, someone we had not seen in many years. He wanted to come in for “a brush up,” as he put it, to get down the latest lingo and “stuff like that.”
We arranged a meeting, and he informed us that he was getting bored with sitting around the house. He was approached by a well-funded start up that was operating in the same retail apparel footwear space in which he once worked. They were looking for a VP of Sales and thought that with his expertise, he could add value.
Memory Lane?
He walked into the office, sat down and immediately began to reminisce about past triumphs.
“Remember,” he asked, “when I told you about our company introducing what would turn out to be the first ‘Earth shoe?’”
Yes, of course, I vaguely remembered. But that was when, in the mid-1970s?
“I was young then,” he said. “From there we went on to developing what would turn out to be the forerunners to the military-style (he mentioned the name) boots.”
Yes, I remembered, but I reminded him he was talking about the late-1980s, give or take. From there he took me to his crowning achievement, those ridiculous looking platform shoes of the 1990s.
“We made a killing on those,” he said. “Millions.”
He told me he was going to “whip a team into shape” and go for something new; “kick butt,” and come out with something innovative.”
We listened in stunned silence. Not because his frames of reference were twenty or more years old, or because we thought he lacked the creativity to develop new products. In fact, VIM Executive Coaching applauds any executive leader who wishes to remain vital and relevant – at any age.
However, the problem we saw was that he believed a 2019/2020 management style was the same style he left when he retired in 1999.
Are You Ready to Respond?
In talking about his experiences and new adventure, what we saw was an executive who left the corporate world prior to the digital revolution. Beyond that, he was throwing around references to “kicking butts,” and whipping teams into shape rather than offering insights into being mindful of the unfolding workplace dynamic.
In other words, he came from a world of reaction and not response. It was almost a dictatorial mindset, rather than bringing workplace teams together, reflecting on diverse cultures and attitudes and applying compassion to the creative process. He was obstinate in considering that he either needed to adjust his mindset or to consider that his success in working with a young team would have “philosophical” limitations. In other words, unless he developed mindfulness, the ability to respond rather than react and to delve into the new workplace, his success would be limited.
Though we had a lovely talk, and though it was wonderful to see him, we were much more enthusiastic about another option he had mulled: refinishing Danish Modern antiques he and his wife were importing from Scandinavia!
Older workers, especially executive leaders, indeed have been successful in re-entering the corporate world, but only if they quietly accept that change is good, that they can learn to embrace that change, and to respond rather than react to the “new normal.”
VIM Executive Coaching embraces today’s younger workers. We strongly feel that age-diverse workplaces can be strong and healthy workplaces but only when compassion and mindfulness are cultivated and applauded.