Leaders’ brains can improve with time

A leader who is constantly on the quest for knowledge gets refined by age. A timeless wisdom is something we acquire along, like in the case of wealth and health. When we look at leaders and their learnings, what we essential look at is how they responded to adversity and challenges faced to them and how did they overcome and triumphed, so that we don't need to reinvent the wheel and take inspiration from their experience and age.

I personally feel the best combination is a more senior person working with a junior person. The senior person has the wisdom of not making the same mistake over again, however a junior person may be more up to speed with fast developing technologies and willing to take risks. Putting two people together like that and you can have a well oiled machine. When I started out the more senior people tended to not share how to do things. I on the other hand embraced the junior people. I would document what I did and give it to them to do the work. Or have them investigate issue or ideas since they tended to have more time. They knew more about the lasted tech than I did and would ask questions to them in a teamwork type effort. The best example I have of this teamwork was killed as soon as new management came in. They were the smartest person in the room or could say all the big words.

Several questions arise when reading such broad statements. For instance, the statement that "7 out of the top 10 Fortune 500 firms are led by people in" their mid-50's doesn't prove anything about the leader. They could have a great staff throwing the energy for them. It could simply be a matter of that's where one ends up at that age after climbing the ladder. I do believe experience is key, the more the better. But leaders lead at any age. The qualities it takes to be a good (or great) leader are intrinsic to that person. Yes, leadership skills develop over time but a true "great" leader is just that... and rare. The most extraordinary "leader" I have worked under is well into their 60's, brilliant, a visionary, and still open to new information and experiences.?