Even more broadly, senior sages have shifted away from internal focus to greater emphasis on things external. They look to other people for ideas and answers rather than always taking on the burden themselves. Says one, “I have learned to let go and let others.” And in the process, a number of senior sages have become effective mentors and facilitators. They are able to create dialogue and encourage diverse opinions and solutions rather than always offering their own. The shift to external orientation seems to have resulted from growing self-confidence and the eagerness of senior sages to share credit with other people. As one senior sage artfully put it, “Even though I have the right answer all the time, I don’t always have to express it!” Other seniors describe the character of this shift as not being glued to certain results: “If you are not attached to a specific outcome, so many wonderful things can happen.”
Same Old Me But Also the New Me
A common theme among many senior sages is that they continue to have the same leadership skill-set but now use it in a new way. Yes, they still have the same personality but have smoothed off rough edges in ways that facilitate working effectively with other people in the nonprofit setting. Like most people, senior sage leaders didn’t change overnight. But they have modified the way in which they now think, feel, and act to get more accomplished with and through other people. And they talk about gradual change over time rather than dramatic transformation. They also muse about reverting to their old leadership style when under stress: it is such a powerful pull because they received ample rewards in using it in their earlier lives. So the old style becomes the default position and senior sages say they often struggle to stay with the “new self.”
Senior sages have the additional challenge of remaining strongly committed to a cause while being open to new ideas and perspectives—what one senior calls “gentle fierceness.” It is the joining of two things that are often in opposition: the passion for something (fierceness) tied to the willingness to engage in dialogue and collaboration on behalf of it (gentleness). This may well be at the heart of a new model for senior leadership.
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