Gray-haired wisdom

The ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius, once said, "By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest."  Wisdom, then, comes with experience.  Here, I using the word experience to refer to life experiences, everything that we learn and experience as we grow older.  The word wisdom is defined as "the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment" (the emphasis on the word experience is mine). 

There is a reason that the U.S. Constitution mandates that individuals must be at least 35 years of age to be eligible to become President of the United States.  In fact (at least according to Wikipedia), the median age of all of the U.S. Presidents at the time that they were elected is 55 years and 3 months.  Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest person to be elected President at age 42 years and 322 days.  Similarly, at least according to one study I found, the average age of CEO's in Fortune 500 companies has increased from age 45 years in 2012 to 50 years in 2017. 

I am not saying that wisdom only comes through being older - an opinion that I at least share with Confucius (which is pretty good company, after all, don't you think?).  There are certainly a number of examples of individuals who have acquired wisdom through reflection and imitation, as Confucius suggested.  I am sure that many of you have heard the common phrase describing individuals who are "wise beyond their years."  However, I also think that is important that we don't discount the fact that wisdom also comes with age ("gray-haired wisdom").

There seems to be a growing trend for hiring younger individuals in a number of industries and disciplines - some would say that we are experiencing a "youth movement."  For example, several teams in the National Football League (NFL) have recently hired younger head coaches.  According to one recent study, the average age of newly hired NFL head coaches over the last 20 years was 48 years, with more than half of them ranging between 42 and 51 years of age.  However, the majority of the head coaches hired this past off season were younger than the median age over the past 20 years, and in fact, younger than the low end of the 42-51 year age range - Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury (age 40 years), Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens (age 44 years), Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LeFleur (age 39 years), Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores (age 37 years), New York Jets head coach Adam Gase (age 41 years), and Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor (age 36 years).  Not all of the new NFL coaches were younger (Bruce Arians of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is 66 years of age  and Vic Fangio of the Denver Broncos is 61 years old). 

Why the sudden trend towards younger head coaches?  One reason - Sean McVay.  Three years ago, the  Los Angeles Rams hired Sean McVay as their new head coach when he was only 30 years old.  The team started winning, and in McVay's second season he became the youngest head coach ever in the Super Bowl (the Rams lost to the New England Patriots).  But still - McVay is 24-8, his quarterback (a former number one overall pick in the NFL draft who many pundits thought was going to be a bust after his first NFL season under a different head coach), Jared Goff signed a huge contract this past off-season, and several NFL teams are now looking for the next Sean McVay to try to replicate the Rams' success.

Rich Karlgaard, the publisher of Forbes magazine, writes about the growing trend to hire young in his newest book entitled Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement.  Karlgaard counters with the argument that society's current obsession with the early achievements of wunderkinds is misguided and potentially harmful.  Karlgaard recently told NPR in an interview, "Some people are naturally gifted, focused prodigies. I have nothing against them — in fact, I applaud them.  The problem arises when we think that's the path that's appropriate for all kids, teens and young adults."  Karlgaard suggests that rather than focusing on identifying the next wunderkind (Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, or Sean McVay), we should be looking at so-called "late bloomers" (individuals who find success relatively later in life). 

Karlgaard, who himself became successful relatively later in life, argues that six key characteristics or strengths make late bloomers "worth the wait":

1. Curiosity - There isn't enough evidence to suggest that late bloomers are more curious than early bloomers (and there probably won't be).  However, while early bloomers tend to focus like a laser on one particular area of interest (e.g. a single sport like baseball, playing a musical instrument, or becoming a master at chess), late bloomers explore a variety of disciplines and areas of interest.  As a result, they tend to pick up the label of "lacking focus" in a world that overvalues early achievement.  Rather than being expert in one particular area, late bloomers tend to acquire knowledge and skills in a number of, at times, seemingly unrelated areas of interest.  They use this broad-based, breadth of knowledge ("a mile wide" instead of "a mile deep") to be innovative thinkers and problem-solvers. 

2. Compassion - Late bloomers tend to show greater self-reflection, less ego-centeredness, and compassion and understanding towards others.  They use these insights to understand and help others.  Late bloomers often meander through childhood and early adulthood from one failure to the next.  Importantly, by failing often, they eventually succeed (failure leads to learning, learning eventually leads to success).

3. Resilience - Late bloomers are resilient.  Resilience, or "grit" tends to be an excellent predictor of success.  Dr. Angela Duckworth's research suggests that individuals who test high on the "grit scale" are more likely to complete Navy SEAL training or graduate from West Point (grit is more predictive than athletic ability or intelligence in this regard). 

4. Equanimity - Here, Karlgaard defines equanimity as a certain "mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation."  Think of equanimity as "grace under pressure" - late bloomers do extraordinarily well in highly stressful situations.  Certainly, their resilience helps here as well, but it's more than just grit.  Late bloomers, often due to the summation of their life experiences, remain "calm under fire", and research has long established that calm leaders are more effective leaders.

5. Insight - Insight is more than just that "Eureka moment" or "moment of genius."  Karlgaard claims that research shows "our insights are the result of us drawing on our full mental library of experience, patterns, and context, yielding an idea of extraordinary value."  Late bloomers can draw upon their greater collective life experiences to come up with novel ways of problem-solving.

6. Wisdom - Karlgaard presents evidence that strongly supports the notion that wisdom increases with age and experience, which means that we have come full circle.  There is something to be said about "gray-haired wisdom."  In the end, life's experiences matter greatly.  Perhaps we should be focusing less on depth of knowledge in one particular area and instead try to acquire breadth of knowledge in a variety of areas.  Ironically, it's taken me half of a lifetime to figure that out.  In other words, it is only through the wisdom of age that I have come to the realization that breadth of knowledge is just as important as depth of knowledge.  Wisdom begets wisdom, apparently.