Thousands of words have been written about why Geelong and Manly won their respective competitions. My take on it is simple: both clubs respected the value of older players and got the most out of them.
Business should pay more attention to how these and other champion sporting teams have a knack of helping their veterans maximise performance, and mentor emerging young talent.
Cats captain Cameron Ling, 30, is one of the side's oldest players.Credit: Paul Rovere
You might think it’s a long bow to draw between sporting teams and business on this issue. Or that the answer is all about sports science, managing player workloads and recovery. Maybe. But is it just coincidence that two clubs with older player rosters, especially Geelong, in their respective competitions have been the most successful in the past five years?
I have long thought that some big companies write off their older talent too quickly.
A fifty-something who is not in an executive role may be seen as a costly “career blocker” for cheaper, younger talent. A sixty-something nearing retirement is supposedly not interested in new challenges, responsibility, promotions and pay rises. Or an inexperienced young manager gravitates to younger workers, thinking older staff are less motivated or inflexible, and that managers are mostly measured on developing young workers, not on helping older workers lift performance.
What’s your view?
- Do you think too many big companies get the balance wrong between young and old talent?
- Does your employer pander to young talent and neglect its older workers?
- Do businesses make enough effort to get the most out of oldest workers?
- What else can business learn from Geelong and Manly’s success?
Of course, not all companies are like this. Some with foresight make a great effort to keep, train and promote workers near or past retirement age. And making broad statements about any age group is fraught with danger. I can hear my mother-in-law saying, “Tony, age is just a number; you’re only as old as you feel!”
Too true. Still, I have seen managers who are blinded by the age factor. They pander too much to young talent and cast older workers to the side. They focus on cost rather than value. Is it any wonder some older workers become disgruntled, lose their passion for the organisation, and go on cruise control?
Few things are sadder than seeing a veteran employee who was once incredibly passionate about the business, and still incredibly talented, turn up to work each day to collect a pay cheque, having mentally resigned years ago.
It’s not just an issue for big business. Most entrepreneurial ventures I know are full of young people, often for good reason. Do their founders give enough thought to the benefit that workers who may have retired can bring to their venture? My business has had a terrific experience working with a sixty-something, whom I wouldn’t swap for three 20-year olds. I wonder why more small businesses don’t recruit retired workers who are eager to work part-time or full-time again.
Even businesses that are serious about retaining workers seem to approach the issue with a defensive mindset. They don’t want to lose workers during a possible skills shortage, or they want to retain the knowledge and contacts of older workers. This perception that most people near retirement (whatever that is these days) want to embark of their “third act” and mix work with their personal interests, is dangerously simplistic in my view – and unrealistic.
As people live longer, and the global financial crisis forces entire generations to work longer, the notion of “retirement” needs to be overhauled. Smart organisations will have a culture and systems to help employees continually improve their performance, regardless of age. And they will create more opportunity for older workers and emerging young talent to mix, learn from and energise each other.
I wonder why more small businesses don’t recruit retired workers who are eager to work part-time or full-time again.
They will also know when it’s time bring younger talent through, lest they end up like a less successful sporting example in recent times: the Australian cricket team.
Maybe there’s nothing to the success of Geelong and Manly on this issue. Or maybe, just maybe, these champion sporting clubs are several years ahead of business when it comes to getting the most from their veterans (by football standards), mostly through great cultures and systems – and a recognition that experience is often the difference between winning and losing.