12 Practices Of Older Leaders Who Stay Relevant

As a 48-year-old man with gray hair I have to work very hard to stay relevant.  There is a natural tendency to grow tired of the old, faithful things and replace them with what is new, what is shinier.  We get bored and disastisfied quickly and easily.  What may surprise you is this is especially true with people.

As a result, I am always trying to get better by studying the latest trends, reading cutting-edge publications and websites, visiting the most relevant churches, interacting with young people and generally trying to stay fresh.  If not, being put on the bench is an environmental reality in the leadership world.

This is why I loved Austin Murphy’s July 28th Sports Illustrated profile of eight-time Pro Bowl, two-time MVP, Super Bowl winning and future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.  Entering his 14th season, the 35-year-old Brees has gone through incredible lengths to remain in top physical condition and at the top of his profession.

As I read the article, I gleaned a number of critical insights for older leaders wishing to remain successful in their chosen field.  So as a gift to all my fellow leaders over the age of 40, the following are 12 Practices Of Older Leaders Who Stay Relevant:

1. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Use Marginal Time Wisely – How do you use your down time?  While Brees has earned the right to enjoy his off-season, he spends his marginal time in San Diego doing extensive physical conditioning.
2. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Hire A Coach To Continually Improve – Coaches provide expertise and accountability.  They push us to get better.  Brees has hired Todd Durkin to prolong his career.
3. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Embrace New Methods And Technologies – While attending Purdue University, Brees did Olympic-style training – bench press, squats, clean and jerks, and dead lifts.  Now Brees is on the leading edge of training techniques strengthening his core, increasing his flexibility and rotational strength.
4. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Study Current Trends – Brees works extremely hard during the off-season so he can focus on film study and the mental preparation needed to excel during a NFL regular season.
5. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Arrive To Work Early – While many young leaders must learn time management skills, many successful older leaders realize an early start improves preparation and puts you ahead of the competition.
6. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Prepare For Real Life Situations – Brees says, “I don’t do things in here at one speed, then do things on the field at another speed.  It’s all the same.  Obviously, when I’m doing weight exercises, there’s proper form.  But once you have that down, you try to do it quickly, with intensity.  Because that’s how it happens on the field.”
7. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Are Resilient – Nine years ago Brees had a well-documented shoulder injury where he dislocated his joint, had a partially-torn rotator cuff and a tear of his labrum.
8. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Are Efficient And Make Few Mistakes – Workout partner Tank Carer says of Brees’ workout, “He’s really meticulous about doing the (exercise) movement perfectly.  I’m trying to model that, because obviously he’s been in the league a long time.”
9. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Embrace Hard Work – You must continually outwork your competition.  Brees says, “A full workout on the TRX can absolutely destroy you.”
10. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Make Hard Work Serious Fun – While the pace of Brees’ training is torrid and individual breaths become a valued commodity, he has learned to have fun both personally and with his training partners.
11. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Do Not Waste Time Or Opportunity – There is a difference between sensing opportunity and seizing it.  Opportunities come and opportunities go.  Then opportunities come no more.  Brees says, “There’s no wasted movement, no wasted exercise.  Everything has a purpose.”
12. Older Leaders Who Remain Relevant Prioritize Family – Organizations do not love you unconditionally.  Your family does.  In addition, a man’s performance is largely dependent upon his wife’s confidence in him.  One of Brees’ workout partners is his wife Brittany Brees.  Brittany also happens to be pregnant with the couple’s fourth child.

If you are an older leader like I am, save this post and refer to it often.  Let’s learn from Drew Brees together.  The leadership community is better when seasoned leaders are a part of it.  We need not be marginalized or discounted.

To subscribe to this site and get my latest FREE eBook 999 Leadership Quotes On Leadership: Wise Words And Timeless Truths From The 2014 ARC, Passion, Orange, and Leadercast Conferences (and others) click here or on the image to the left.