Which is better?
Age and experience or youth and
enthusiasm? That is the question.
he election is over; we have a new Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the persons of Messrs David Cameron and Nick Clegg. This article is being written just before the Queen’s speech and the state opening of parliament. By the time you read this it will have been published, debated, analysed and
and pundits all of whom will claim that their personal views are the best.
T
One thing that has been noted is that at
people to lead this country for many years. There are some who will claim their young (for a politician) age suggests a lack of experience and may not prepare them for the tough, sometimes onerous, decisions that have to be made in the course of their duties. Yet is age any indication of experience and ability?
If you look at many taxi trade unions / associations, and other organisations, we
been doing so for many years. In many cases they do so in a professional way
However, it seems to me (and you can correct me if I’m wrong about your local organisation) they are often run by people
That means they are now in their 60s. At 62 I am member of that generation.
In that time the world, our world, has changed considerably. From a relatively
society with an ordered structure we went, via the 1960s free love, anything goes period
through the disco 70s, the 80s and the 90s with their periods of boom and bust to the present recession which has followed the longest period of expansion that has been known for many years. During that period today’s leaders gained their experience of the world and bring that experience to bear in leading their organisation.
Yet this experience is coloured. For many
down’ hierarchical approach with promotion
Communications consisted of newspapers
or news letters that had to be written in long hand, then either typed (anyone remember the Gestetner spirit based duplicators?) or typeset before being printed. Add in distribution time and the whole process of getting information out could take a long time, but time wasn’t as critical as it is today.
The world has moved, at almost mind boggling speed, to one where we have instant access via the Internet, e-mails, mobile phone messages, Twitter, multiple television channels and all the variety of communications we now have, to instant access to any amount of information. This has changed the way that we have access to
anyone, can now be reached, even from our cars. We have all seen how information, photos, even videos can be electronically manipulated. We are no longer prepared to accept what is presented as absolute truth. With access to so much information the result has been the demise of the traditional hierarchy. People will no longer accept being given orders to be carried out without
carry out something and even then will often only do so if they want to.
What kind of leader do we need for this seemingly chaotic, fast paced, new world rather than the older, more ordered, world? That brings me right back to the original question, age and experience or youth and enthusiasm? The older approach often takes time to consider all aspects of a proposition, while youth may act sooner. There are many stories of the new, young businessmen and women who, lacking the constraints of a traditional approach, have found innovative ways to run their businesses. Is this where we need new leaders, leaders who are at home in today’s society? Is it time for the
generation?
History has shown that the younger generations, unencumbered by previous tradition and methods have been able to see beyond the boundaries to new horizons. There is a report of an experiment carried out where a number of monkeys were placed into an enclosed space. There was what appeared to be an easy escape route. The
monkeys, having explored the immediate boundaries, eventually made their way to
this route they were met with a shower of water. Hating water they retreated to the
continue as each monkey tried to make the exit. Eventually all the monkeys became aware of this boundary, and, fearing the shower, would make no effort to test the limits, even though the shower punishment had been turned off. After a period of time the experimenters introduced a new monkey into the enclosure. Not having been subjected to any adverse effect, this monkey made its way to the exit. What happened next was that the other monkeys, expecting that they would all suffer, stopped the newcomer – yet there was nothing preventing their progress! It took the introduction of several new monkeys to overcome the conditioned response of
successfully made the exit, the remainder soon followed where they found a world that was larger, with more food and water.
Does your local organisation (and this applies equally to any of our leisure organisations such as golf, tennis, cricket, football, or whatever club) have an older, established, hierarchical management which is holding things back? Does it hold back the newcomers who may try to test the established boundaries – boundaries which may no longer be present? Or does it have young, dynamic, go-ahead people who don’t care about the established order and, having tested the old boundaries will lead it to newer,
Which is better, age and experience or youth, energy and enthusiasm? Or perhaps a combination of both would be better? You decide, but if you decide that newer heads are needed, then support them, get involved in your organisation, and working as a group, you can test the boundaries and, like the monkeys, overcome those who, conditioned by past experiences, try to prevent you from escaping from past boundaries.
Copyright Mike Hughes 2010
07500 444 600
26
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www.taxitalk.co.uk
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