Sunday, March 12, 2006

6 ways to reengage midcareer managers

An article in the Harvard BR of March 2006 by Robert Morison, Tamara Erickson and Ken Dychtwald explores the challenges and the opportunities of reengaging midcareer managers (between ages 35 and 55) in corporations.
Quite a few of these people are either burned out, bottlenecked or bored.
Most interestingly, the authors provide 6 ways to reengage midcareer managers, tapping into their hunger for renewal and a meaningful role:
  1. Give them a fresh assignment, often in a different location or part of the organization.
  2. Offer an attractive internal career change, for example developing a new speciality.
  3. Give them a mentoring, teaching or other knowledge-sharing role.
  4. Give them more fresh training. Do not cut on training for this experienced group.
  5. Offer a sabbatical, taking away cost issues and the fear that this will mark them as less committed than those who don't interrupt their work.
  6. Expand leadership development.

The authors believe it is in the enlightened self-interest of companies to revitalize the careers of these people, because soon there will be a shortage of brains and leadership skills when the boomer retirement wave hits.