What does this mean? They face projects, deployments and training to raise awareness among collaborators about the importance of being able to attract and develop profiles different from those that are usually incorporated and generate an adequate climate to receive them, guaranteeing their insertion into the organizational culture.
In most cases, when we have executive search processes, clients clarify “of course, you can show me women for the role”. Clearly, when I mention diversity, the bias that arouses on the other side is that I am talking about incorporating female talent. But, diversity is not only women, it is much broader. It has to do with ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity and also, among others, age.
For some reason, in my eyes, not all organizations give importance to the age issue. Age is still taboo. I recently heard doctors talk about old age defining it as a disease. The truth was I was shocked. But of course, old age is the irreversible degeneration of the human body.
The need to stay young has become paramount for many of the world’s inhabitants. There is also a counter-tendency to be more realistic and this is reflected in networks where some actors and actresses promote uploading photos without filters or Photoshop. We should be able to be proud of what we are, and what we are is precisely given to us by the experience of what we have lived.
The big difference between a good profile and an excellent one, when one evaluates executive profiles, is reflected in how modern the person is, how agile they are, and what is their ability to learn new things. Those qualities are independent of age. Therein lies the real challenge: knowing how to interview a candidate to understand if he has a strategic vision, the ability to adapt to changes and if he has a growth mindset.
Organizations now need to be more flexible when evaluating the profiles to incorporate. I recently remember a process that we carried out for an international company where we were looking for a CFO, and they stressed to us “please, one who knows how to handle himself in contexts of hyperinflation.” What better than someone who suffered the last years of the Alfonsín government or the first years of Menem? How old is that executive today? That client, luckily, saw value in the experience and lived it as a plus.
What does science say about biases? The primary function of the human brain is to survive and procreate. As a result of this we have unconscious biases. Every decision or judgment you make contains your social and survival needs.
How are our biases formed?
- Human culture changes based on where we grew up, our families, and where we live, among other things. But, the brain is constant.
- Motivation and biases are part of how the brain of all human beings works.
- Our brains are quite similar and evolved in a similar way and have a similar range of emotions and biases.
- Understanding how the brain works is the first step to mitigating bias and changing the culture in an organization.
So, back to the original question: How old is the ideal candidate?
I believe that there is no ideal age. Search processes are one big puzzle where, in the end, you need all the parts and they have to fit perfectly together to do an extraordinary job. The age of a candidate is secondary, if the candidate meets all the attributes you are looking for.
The adaptability of a person is characteristic of that person and is not property of his age. Surely we all know super rigid 30-year-olds with poor listening. We also know people in their 60s who are agile, open to listening to all voices, good leaders of their people and open to innovation.
Let’s not let our age bias dictate our decisions. Let’s stop the ball and think about whether the decision we are making is the right one or based solely on preconceptions.
Sandra Olive She is a consultant, speaker and executive coach specialized in organizational culture and executive searches for senior management.
by Sandra Olive
