You wise ass...
There are times when I reflect that I am getting old too quickly, and not just in years but in behaviours and habits.
Professionally, I was once one of the youngest people in the room, an old head on young shoulders some said while others described me as overly ambitious.
Whatever it was at the time it has long passed and while it was marvelous there is the counter idiom that you can’t put an old head on young shoulders.
It’s a conundrum for leaders of all ages yet for youngsters the former description can be both of great benefit and a poisonous chalice in equal measure.
My dad was poorly educated but a fanatical reader of fiction, devouring books ranging from the late Wilbur Smith and the recently departed spy novelist John le Carre to large print trashy cowboy and western stories. He would read up to eight books over a two to three-week period and then be screaming out for more.
And I would play a role in his passion, particularly as he aged, visiting the library to borrow, and put back, heading straight to the recently returned section to complete a pleasurable and rewarding chore.
And while my dad never lived to see nor read from a Kindle or listen to novels via streaming service, I am making up for it.
Reading may not be considered getting old, but I have found peace in his habit, retreating to the bedroom, laying on the bed at the end of a workday, and losing myself in a book. Relaxation you may agree, but not always accepted, understood, or the timing agreed with by my family.
A new novel provides escapism from the stressful existences that we now live. Reading is an opportunity to decompress, forget for a while, and recharge. It also assists me to fall asleep.
Like many great sayings, phrases, stories, or idioms, it was William Shakespeare who first described a younger person who was wise beyond their years.
The most famous of writers, Shakespeare, was born at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 dying in the same place in 1616 – even his town sounds poetic.
In Act Four Scene One of the Merchant of Venice (1598), the duke reads Dr Bellario’s letter to the court describing an apparent young Doctor of Laws, Balthasar, "I beseech you let his lack of years be no impediment to let him lack a reverend estimation, for I never knew so young a body with so old a head."
The duke is the Duke of Venice who must uphold the law on behalf of Venetians, Dr Bellario, a Doctor of Laws, is sent for to intervene in a disagreement over a loan of money from the Jew Shylock to the antisemite Antonio, and Balthasar is Portia’s, Bellario’s cousin, servant.
Portia sends Balthasar for Dr Bellario’s legal robes and papers and then assumes the identity of her servant, the young but wise one, to represent Antonio, her husband’s best friend, due to Dr Bellario’s purported ill health and inability to attend the court.
Portia saved Antonio’s life through legal argument and is the hero of the Merchant of Venice.
Balthasar is found in just one scene and offers just one line. Nonetheless, Dr Bellario, who will do anything for his cousin, untruthfully waxes lyrical about Balthasar for spurious purposes and not on merit.
The Merchant of Venice may be more than 400 years old; even so, it is a timely tale and perhaps as relevant today, considering recent events in the Middle East, as it was in 1598.
“…for I never knew so young a body with so old a head,” is a compliment no doubt but it is also an overused idiom that can ultimately place too much pressure on a younger person with a life to live.
In cultivating and mentoring young lives, a list of achievements atop a resume is seen of great benefit but we must ensure that it doesn’t stifle, nor place undue demands which unrealistically force conformity to a set of rules or a desired pattern of behaviour that are the wheelhouse of older counterparts.
There is no doubt that young leaders are fearless, principled, far smarter, and willing to stand-up to injustice but the importance of resilience; keeping going when the going gets tough develops with experience. It takes time to form the skills required to recover and bounce back.
A modern life is full of pressure with much of it driven by constant feedback arriving via social media, an aspect of our society where a constant state of resilience is required.
I feel fortunate that the early part of my professional career was dominated by face-to-face interactions because I was forced to develop emotional intelligence in real time and not through virtual relationships.
William Shakespeare coined the idiom about young people and wise heads centuries ago and it was used to assist a person pretending to be someone else, a fake profile if you like, with the reference far from a genuine compliment, rather, it was for nefarious purposes.
And now, with that in mind and having survived, I am still on a leadership journey, and my new novel continues to call.