You Get Some Brains When You Turn 40
Middle age has made me a more empathetic leader
I celebrated my 45th birthday in December.
A few years back my dad gave me some words of wisdom: You get some brains when you hit 40. At the time, it didn’t strike me as a light bulb moment but whenever someone in their 70s gives me advice I usually keep it in my back pocket. I never thought it would pertain to the way that I lead my teams but I’ve found that it has.
When I was a younger leader I didn’t give much thought to the lives people led outside the building we all worked in. I expected everyone to be on time, work hard, respect the team, and ask smart questions. Anything outside of that I didn’t have too much time for. I understood that people had feelings but I wanted them kept outside my store.
My leader friends felt the same way so I thought this was normal. My best friend ran a large retail building with about 100 employees. I don’t keep Kleenex in my office, she told me. When they run out of sleeve the meeting is over. Implying that someone crying would not be given a seat in her office for too long. Retail has never been a home for the warm-and-fuzzy-feelings kinda people.
