United Community Services Co-op

There seems to be a theme that has appeared in a few posts on this blog, regarding age/generation and the workplace. As such, I thought this would be a good opportunity for someone just entering the sector to reflect on what the experience is as a newbie (or, specifically what my experience has been).

I have to say that these past few months (I have now been working at the Co-op since January) have been an eye opening experience. I have learned a huge amount from the variety of work that I am engaged in at the Co-op, but what I have learned the most about and become fascinated by is this sector in general. This has proved to be an interesting time to be entering the non-profit sector in BC.

I like the comment that Tim said at the end of his post, Mapping the Future Dialogue: “They won’t get it done without throwing some of us overboard” (in reference to the emerging leaders working to make change and needing to boot-out the baby-boomers). And although I am not so sure I agree – or that it has to be so severe, I do know that my generation is ready for challenge. So it appears that not only do we have a generation of emerging leaders that need to be supported and pushed into leading roles, but we also have a lot of fresh faces that want to dive in. We are young, and naïve in many ways, but we are ready to be challenged. Are there opportunities available to us? How do we break into challenging roles, when previous experience is needed, but often so hard to get?  Where is there space for those of us ready to make the leap?

Recently, I have seen friends not be able to find work, friends lose their jobs for unfortunate reasons and so many friends working hard, impressing their employers, but not feeling challenged enough. This is a trying time for so many, and for those of us just entering the ‘real world’ as we like to call post-university or college, this is a very intimidating time. As we do not yet know what the next five years will bring, it is difficult to think about becoming leaders later in life, or even the possibility of becoming a Prince Charles as Justin so eloquently refers to his cohort. However, I do know that the huge potential the young generation brings should not be foregone because of a workplace that is unable to adapt.

So with this aging ‘emerging leaders’ group, and a cohort of younger folks ready to jump into the deep end, how DO we make sure that everyone gets what they need from their work?

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I’ve been trying to write a new blog post for a while now. But today, as I sit in front of my computer and sip an afternoon coffee (which I shouldn’t be having!) from my favourite office mug, I am prompted to finally put an idea that has been on my mind for some time now into blog form.

This thought of mine has been percolating (note the subtle coffee reference) for some time now and I’m seeing it referenced a few other places as well – the notion of an aging “emerging leader” cohort.

Confronting my own aging “emergence” has most often come in mug form. The favourite office mug that I was just referring to above is a tacky Carlton Cards one that says, “I’m not old. I’m just chronologically gifted!” At first I gravitated towards it because I thought the juxtaposition of seeing this phrase on a mug held by a young looking 33 year old would be funny.

But then it dawned on me. I’m 33! Not quite the young employee working in the non-profit sector that I once was over 10 years ago when I started out working at Volunteer Richmond.

I have unpacked this idea before, most recently at the same meeting Tim Beachy blogged about in his last posting. I am no longer new enough to be considered “emerging” by some definitions (although I follow the school of thought that we’re always emerging in some way) and not a veteran of the sector to be considered a current leader just yet. And there are a lot of us out there in this middle group. We’re sort of a forgotten bunch in all the succession chatter, which focus mainly on the new to the sector and the soon to retire.

In the meeting both Tim and I were at, someone used the term the “Prince Charles cohort” to describe this group. We all laughed (and so did I – particularly hard I must say), but there is some truth in that description. I truly believe some of us in this middle group will become inspiring leaders in our own right. I’ve met many of them along my travels!

But I do worry about how many people might be in “Prince Charles” circumstances, where leadership opportunities may not come in a timely manner. How many Prince Charles are out there in the non-profit sector who will only get the chance to stretch their leadership wings when it is far too late to make the kind of impact current leaders have been able to over decades of being visionaries? Will some not have the opportunity at all and instead continue in a supporting role, but for exciting new leadership from the generation after us? What are some of the solutions or strategies to avoid a whole cohort of Prince Charles?

I think this is a notion that I will continue to unpack. Does anyone out there have any thoughts? One thought that I’ve come across was from non-profit blogger extraordinaire Rosetta Thurman in a posting she provided to The Chronicle of Philanthropy called “The End of the Next Generation”. A very proactive viewpoint I thought. Thanks to the Next Leaders Network for reblogging it!

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Last Friday I attended a little dialogue of four grey heads and four younger heads. The subject was “Our sector: mapping the past and the future”.  We talked about each subject for over an hour – me mostly about the past, as befits my age. It is challenging to free think in that environment. We have so many powerful myths and historical markers that tie us to our own sub-sector posts rather than together in a network.

So what does tie us together? Language is strong, professional prejudices so pervasive and “cause thinking” so ingrained, one wonders just what kind of quake it might take to shake it out.  The dialogue was good, with challenges and competing ideas, and uplifting. It felt like the conversation we could use regularly and forcefully.

Mapping the future is subject to the forces of demographic change, workforce change, economic and social policy change, governance change and, more precisely the mapping activities of others.  All the talk about being assertive and leading into the future depends on so many ‘depends on …’.  So, how do we sharpen the point, simplify and focus?  What are the two or three key leverage spots that can make the most difference?

I expect that will be the subject of the next dialogue, but here are some thoughts:

• Moving backwards to a simpler time and approach is likely not the best direction;
• Emerging leaders need space to actually make change – not pretend change, but real change;
• Emerging leaders need to create new myths and stories and a new platform on which to stand; and,
• It is about time (now and the future) and space (community, province, profession, …).

They won’t get it done without throwing some of us overboard.

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