Decided to take a look back and found this post from June of 2005. Ever experienced old leaders and their old ideas? Maybe you’ve approached your life this way. It’s a dangerous place, either way.
Isn’t it tragic how old leaders bring old ideas? Here are some reasons for this dysfunction:
- Old leaders look through the lens of the past. A place that “once was”
- Old leaders believe (foolishly) that what worked in the past will work again
- Old leaders grow old gradually…over time, and die before they are buried
- Old leaders are insecure and need an organization that will grow old with them
- Old leaders think change applies to others
I was at a holiday get-together this past weekend. One individual gave me some interesting insights. She worked for a company where many of the key leaders had moved onto another competitor. This was the result of a management shake-up some years ago. These leaders were now trying to implement a structure like the one they had some ten years ago. She hauntingly noted; “it didn’t work at our place ten years ago, and it won’t work at their new place.”
One of the common mistakes of management is the dysfunction of justifying the old by glorying in the “moments in the sun.” They experienced the success, and believed that is was a one-way ticket to everlasting success. Again, old leaders with old ideas.