The culprit: ageism.
This woman is much younger than most of her colleagues. And she has the wonderful gift of looking even younger than her age. And she’s very intelligent, self-aware, articulate, and she gets sh*t done – always. She has ideas – really good ones – that she USED to share. But she has consciously dimmed her light. She stopped once everyone started treating her like a stereotype:
🙅Believing she had little to no experience and therefore less value…
🙅Assuming that she wasn’t committed to being with the organization long term…
🙅Not recognizing her great ideas because they were different than the norm…
🙅Kept rewarding her consistently with others instead of commensurately for the standout work that she was doing….
And the list goes on.
I want to talk to all the evolving BADA$$ leaders out here. You’ve earned your seat at the table. You’re calling the shots now. You’re leading teams, functions, whole organizations.
Here’s my reminder. Lean in and listen closely as I whisper, “YOU have the tremendous POWER to impact other young leaders’ lives and a RESPONSIBILITY to get it right. Leadership is a PRIVILEGE. Don’t f*ck it up.”
BADA$$ leadership is about bringing out the best in EVERYONE, including the current AND next generation of leaders. It’s not about preserving our roles by putting people in their place. It’s not about what your journey looked like and making sure that others follow the same path. It’s about recognizing and freeing the authentic leadership that lies within those who are coming after us.
We often think of ageism as being directed toward those of us who are older and very tenured, but it’s happening to the younger generation as well. And BASIC leaders are at the helm.
Here are the “don’ts and do’s” of developing emerging leaders that will move you from BASIC to BADA$$:
✋🏼Don’t: Assume that less years and tenure automatically equate to lack of experience, intellect, and insight.
👋🏼Do: Give them access to great projects and assignments that will challenge and develop them.
✋🏼Don’t: Put tenure over impact and outcomes when rewarding if they’re outperforming their more tenured peers. Find your voice and put some courage into this one. Be able to articulate to ALL how and why you reward performance the way you do.
👋🏼Do: Reward them commensurately with the impact and outcomes they are having.
✋🏼Don’t: Let others shut them down and not give their ideas a chance to develop.
👋🏼Do: Provide a platform for their voice and allyship for their ideas. Use your badassery for their benefit. You got clout. Use it!
✋🏼Don’t: Wait for them to fill the most important gaps of knowledge on their own.
👋🏼Do: Engage them proactively with mentors that can fill the most important gaps in their knowledge. You know the gaps. Accelerate their learning.
✋🏼 Don’t: Step back and wait to see who becomes their advocate.
👋🏼Do: Link them directly with a powerful sponsor who will advocate on their behalf.
✋🏼 Don’t: Assume anything. You know what assuming does!
👋🏼Do: Listen, ask questions, get to know them.
BASIC Leaders believe they’ve earned their leadership role and others need to pay dues.
BOLD Leaders don’t make age-based or tenure-based assumptions about emerging talent.
BADA$$ Leaders know it’s not even about them. They have a “next one up” mentality. They’re actively developing the leaders of the future right now! They’re all about badassery for the benefit of others!
Pick a lane and get after it!
BE AUTHENTIC.
CHOOSE BOLDLY.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE.