A Cheer for the Old Dogs

Do you remember the days when anyone over 40 was already on the corporate scrap heap? Used to be a leader who had lost his moxie was doomed to a netherworld of hoped-for and patronisingly-given exec directorships allowing him or her to eke out their days until retirement mercifully kicked in. “It’s a young man’s game,” we were told. There was just no room in the world, where youth was king, for those who fell from grace just too early, still clinging desperately to the success ladder with white, shaking fingers.

But lately, I’ve been hearing stories – and most importantly seeing evidence – that being on the ropes doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all over.

Last month, one of my oldest friends fell foul of their board and the other got shanghaied in a shareholder revolt. Result? no job, no title, just the pay–off for a job that had taken its toll over the years. Not wanting to admit defeat and say sayonara to a life of getting the golf handicap into single figures, they called some pals and the results were amazing. Within a matter of days, they were looking at job offers from all over the place. What was most interesting about the whole process was the variety. Private and public sector, plus offers of lucrative consulting and turnaround assignments. From an expected vacuum and a real struggle to get back onto the radar, the phone’s been ringing off the hook.

I chatted to both of them about their next moves. Mark is 55 and in good shape with a great track record as an inspirational leader. Joshua is 60, he’s led a whole series of big businesses, done start-ups, M&As the whole thing.

The one question that was on all their minds was the single word - “Why”? 

“I don’t understand Rudi,” Mark told me. “I thought we were supposed to be over the hill, dead and buried like yesterday’s news.”

“It’s incredible,” said Joshua. “I’ve been contacted by so many people; they all want me to sign on tomorrow.”

Talking with these two novices for a time, I’ve come to the conclusion that their career resurrection is down to one thing. Organisations crave experience and battle-hardened warriors. They need to feel there is someone in charge who has been through the ups and downs and come through, battered and bruised but with all flags flying.

It may be good to be a 20 or 30-year-old whizz-kid, hyped up on technology, but most of them are very, very short on street fighting techniques. The oldies offer experience, consistency and wisdom. Being calm in the storm is a whole lot easier when you’ve seen a lot of storms and survived them.

Mark and Joshua with their long track records across industry bring the kind of insight that only serving time can bring. And in a world that’s full of daily surprises, that is the new “we want” currency.

So what will they do? They have four rock-solid offers each. They also have no illusions that nothing is forever – recent history is there to keep them firmly planted in the real world, where there are few fairy-tale endings.

Mark will take on a leadership role with a commodity firm (his global contacts and long-time relationships are worth their weight in the very sizeable package they’re giving him). Joshua isn’t quite ready to step back in. He’s signed up to be a top level mentor to a group of start-ups, bringing sane advice and counsel where it’s needed most. He’s the den mother where his leadership skills will carry a lot of weight and bring about the repositioning of the firm and its culture as it grows.

I wish them well and hope they find satisfaction in the next chapters of their careers. There’s an old saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. My two friends, Mark and Joshua are out to disprove that statement. As uncertainty becomes the watchword all of us must lead and manage by, my guess is that those young rebels in the corporate suite will be ever more willing to listen to the grey hairs of their elders and until proven otherwise, presumably betters.

This column on leadership and organizational development is written exclusively for the IEDP by Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, the Brussels-based development organization. Have a comment or a question? Engage directly with Rudi Plettinx here.

Leadership: Wily by Nature

VIEWPOINT: Successful senior leaders need the bounce-back resilience of a cartoon character, says Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, in this twelfth in his series of articles for IEDP:

I’ve just spent the weekend with my old friend Gary. I love Gary. He’s so delightfully old fashioned when it comes to business, and when we talk leadership there’s no one to touch him, he just seems to naturally know how to get everyone behind him - every time. As a leader, I may have had my moments, but for me Gary is the numero uno, the big banana - and he makes it look easy too, getting results and energising people in a way most of us can only dream of.

“How do you do that?” I asked him. “ How do you reach those people, who if they were honest would all like to see you fall, crash and burn, yet, perversely, seem contented to follow you anywhere?”

He paused for a second, then his eyes brightened and he leaned over to me. “You know what they call me in the markets, don’t you?” he asks with a grin on his non too handsome face. I shook my head, somewhat mystified by his attitude.

“Wile E Coyote!” he answered, triumphantly, “like the kid’s cartoon." slapping his hand down hard on his antique desk. “They know that whatever they throw at me. I’ll always be back for more.” I’m like the creature in the cartoon, they can’t kill me off, I’m always still going in the last reel. That’s why the other fella is always looking over his shoulder, because they know I’m out there somewhere and I’ll get that deal done one way or another.”

He adds, “They also know that like the cartoon character I’ll be back next week and the week after that. I can’t be killed off, they need me. I provide continuity, certainty. Sure, a few people may laugh, but I get the star billing. What’s a few bruises, when you always win long-term?”

That got me thinking. Is Gary a good definition of a leader - super hero style indestructibility, but one with real-life staying power?

In reality, although I’m sure Gary hasn’t sat down and analysed this (it’s not in his ‘can do’ DNA to do it), Gary is a real leader in every sense of the word. By his very nature of always being there no matter what happens, he is a rock, a permanent fixture people can relate to and rely on. He can shrug off setbacks, ignore bad news and the disapproval of his peers, and get on with the job in hand. Demonstrating single-minded purpose when all around have given up. He’s also inventive, but most of all, he’s THERE. Rain or shine you know that Gary, if he’s on your side, will be there to see things through whatever the odds are against him pulling it off.

In today’s mixed up and complex world, there are far too many so-called leaders who don’t inspire the confidence they should. No wonder shareholders and institutional investors run for cover, there’s no Gary out there to come to their aid. What we want is a real-life cartoon character who can be blown up in a market bubble, pushed off a fiscal cliff and stretched to the nth degree of credibility and still bounce back. 

For my money that’s my pal Gary. Sadly he’s so busy being there and being successful he doesn’t really see it that way and wouldn’t believe me if I told him. But while everyone is still pointing and laughing at Wile E. Coyote, who’s collecting the winnings?

This column on leadership and organizational development is written exclusively for the IEDP by Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, the Brussels-based development organization. Have a comment or a question? Engage direct with Rudi Plettinx here.

Is LEAD - a four-letter word?

VIEWPOINT: ‘Leadership’ is an overused term, too often used as a lazy catchall. Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, calls for a focus on what it means to be a real leader, in this ninth in his series of articles for IEDP: Four-letter words are no-no’s and often none seems to come much bigger than the simple, single syllable statement LEAD. For instance, attach the “L” word to practically anything and you instil in it some kind of supernatural power. “He’s a business leader” is expressed in hushed tones as though we should all be impressed. “Sign up for our seminar on business Leadership and you’ll never look back” is a frequent favourite, hinting at practically guaranteed success. It seems to me that in today’s world the word LEAD is being used in a LAZY way. Users, it would seem, reckon that that the simple evocation of the “L” word conveys mystical powers (allowing those that use it to charge a good 50 percent premium on the services they are offering). Consequently every consultant manages to work the L-word into their product and services. Therefore, it is not surprising that practically every conference, seminar book and research project is based on the thoughts of business leaders which will give you the magical insight to being a real Leader yourself. But isn’t it time we stopped over-using leadership as an all-purpose, over-contrived superlative - an unnecessary and distracting adjectival device? Come on think about it please. Sure we know that most of us would rather be seen as leaders, but surely we have to earn it and be recognised for our abilities before it can be applied to us mere mortals. Calling ourselves a leader does not really work if no-one believes, or has day-to-day confidence, in our talents and abilities. Certainly, we can all read the right books attend the best programs and employ the best coaches, but none of that will make us a leader not for one nano-second. There is a very old saying that you can fool most of the people most of the time. But you just can’t fool your people by proclaiming you are a leader when you are not. All the certificates in the world won’t be of any use when you are in charge and another “L” word appears in you working vocabulary – a- LONE; because that is where you will be -on your own. And that is when we all get to find out how good we really are. Also there is another old adage that suggests that you can get away with not being a very good leader as a Number 2 but never as a Number 1. You can fake it , practically forever, as number 2 but take it from me - and  the many examples I’ve seen time and time again -  if  you have faked it, if you are not really what it says on the box, you will LOSE – big time.  Because, I can guarantee that circumstances will always conspire to make sure you meet that other “word and LOSE.  I have been around the business a long time and I have never seen a fake Number 2 ever succeed as a successful Number 1 – it just does not happen, and I don’t think it ever will. So, yes, I do think the word LEAD and its bigger brother Leadership is overused and badly misunderstood. I think we spray the “L” word around without much thought. But tell you what.  When it all happens one day, you will personally know (deep inside) if you are really a leader or not. And, more important, your people will know that too right from day one– oh yes, indeed they will!! I have been scanning the world’s media and it is amazing how many just do not make it. And all too often they may get to Lead for a while but they don’t last LONG either. In our dumbing- down on LEAD as a word we have managed to reduce the average CEO tenure to less  than five years- so much for another Word victim –LONG evity ! But there is even more of a twist to this when you bother to stop and think about it. What worries me most of all is that we could end-up mistaking that simple, yet highly evocative word Lead for the similarly spelt LEAD. Otherwise known as a very heavy metal……. Chances are you get it all terribly wrong and the people you have come to lead will - if you don’t have it… sink out of sight like a lead balloon…….  In the Periodic Table of corporate life LEAD is most certainly a downer, not what naturally springs to mind when we think of ourselves as all conquering heroes saving the organizational universe. This column on leadership and organizational development is written exclusively for the IEDP by Rudi Plettinx, Managing Director of Management Centre Europe, the Brussels-based development organization. Have a comment or a question? Engage direct with Rudi Plettinx here