Dara Torres Settling for Silver and Winning Gold in the Hearts of Many
After a sixteen day run of full Olympic coverage at every hour imaginable, the Olympics came to a conclusion last evening on NBC. There were memorable moments after memorable moments that were written about and highlighted throughout the Games and will be for many days to come. Everyone most likely has something to remember that will stick with them for years.
One of the stories I will remember is Dara Torres in the 50 meter freestyle event. Dara at the age of 41 competed at the Olympics for the fifth time and came 1/100th of a SECOND from winning a gold medal in an individual event. At Age 41, Dara Torres swam her personal best and competed against others much younger than her including Cate Campbell of Australia 25 years younger!
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Not to mention the admiration I had for someone at her age competing at the ultimate level of competition, she did it with a grace that is often unseen in sports. In the preliminary rounds, she selflessly asked to delay the beginning of the race so a fellow competitor could change their swim gear. As she realized she lost out on gold by a fraction of a second, she graciously smiled, cherished the moment, and realized she had swum her personal best. After her heartbreaking finish, she quickly recouped and helped her relay team capture a silver medal as well.
Torres said, “I’m hoping that my age paves the way for other athletes, who maybe think they are too old to do something to get back in or continue in the sport.”
As others observed the performance and style of Torres, one has to ask whether businesses and leaders are allowing an older generation of employees to achieve success and accomplish their personal best later in their careers. With the impending talent shortage, organizations that understand how to tap into their senior workforce as they near and even after retirement will have a distinct competitive edge.
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As you assess your aging employees ask yourself,
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Are we taking advantage of the knowledge this person has accumulated over the years and asking them to capture their knowledge and transfer it to others? Are we helping them accomplish this and making it easy and enjoyable to do?
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Have we asked them to mentor others and coach and teach younger employees the tangible and intangible aspects to achieve success and achieve great performance?
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Are we asking them to achieve their personal best later in their career by focusing on a project or program that utilizes their abilities and wisdom accumulated throughout the years?
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Have we involved them in determining the legacy they want to leave at the company? If not, we may be wasting an unbelievable talent that could help us increase our medal count in the game of business.
For all of those that watched Dara Torres perform and do so in style and class, don’t waste another moment…determine how to have your older employees achieve the same success!
Tags: Dara Torres, graying workforce, leadership, older employees, Olympics, performance, swimming, talent management
