Published on December 17, 2020
I was reflecting on a conversation I had with a person from an employment firm. I was asked if I had any recommendations for consideration for some specific roles. We had quite a conversation around a few individuals I thought may be worth considering and possibly assessing.
The conversation then progressed along lines where it was considered by the other person the people did not seem to have the existing experience to perform in the roles, further it was discussed, that even if these possible candidates had spent some time filling the roles when the role holder was on extended leave or otherwise this did not factor into “experience”, as usual, something about the conversation bothered me and it took a little while for the pieces to drop.
I recall during the conversation stating, “how do you get experience if you don’t have the role and then how do you get the role without experience”? This seems an age old comment that rises from adolescents trying for their first work experience all the way to Executive Roles and above.
Let’s consider this premise; if we only filled roles with people who had the experience, how or who would we fill them with? How would a person “climb the ladder” if the rungs are unobtainable? I accept there are people who are mobile in their careers and are happy to take a sideways step for a new experience, location, challenge or renewal but if we apply the thinking that only people who have the experience can fill the roles it makes for a stale old workplace, almost seniority by stealth.
Also, we need to adapt to the newer generations, prepare for those who come next, create inclusive and diverse workplaces where people are valued for who they are not what they are, what does the future workplace look like and create it. Who is the future worker and what do they bring?
One thing is for certain, everything is changing, just as the industrial revolution changed everything, we are in the middle of the rise of the digital age, we must create environments to lead, not follow. One outcome of Covid 19 has been the step change to remote working, isolated teams and outcome based work. To be able to create the environment for all these pieces to flourish we need adaptive leaders, we need “leader leader” models, we need to listen better to our people and say “why not” instead of “why” and how do we best preserve human to human interactions?
What type of leader are you? my proposition is; if you are in the last third of your career, what are you doing to create the future? How are you seeking out your unconscious biases and making sure you are not doing the same thing you have always done? If we keep doing things the same way, what changes? Do you get frustrated by the alphabet generations or do you embrace their point of view as a valuable resource and window into the future? This generation is also your current or next generation of customers. What are you doing to create change in your business and the way you interact with people, both staff and customers? Will you be a person who wants to have teams consisting of people being the best at who they are or are you settling for what they are?
A great way for leaders to support people navigating the web of organisations, their own ability, where they may want to go and how to get there, as well as the daunting prospect of how to act, behave, manage and lead if you are in fact fortunate to get a role is engage with a coach or mentor, get someone who is independent, who will be honest with you, someone who may have “been there before” or is someone who you think can help. Coaches certainly worked for me, they helped with the self doubt, the “imposter syndrome”, second guessing or just talking through the conundrum with an independent person with no agendas. Coaches can also help leaders be better at what they want to achieve.
Lets think about how we recruit, who we recruit and what we are trying to achieve, experience may be tried and tested without regard of the context of that experience, but I think you get a whole lot more from capable people, you just have to work a little harder to get to the finish line.
Mal Connellan