At the risk of offending some and tempting fate because I am in the same bucket - mid 50s in an executive position - here are my observations.
Yes, there is definitely a productivity curve with regard to just about any position. The best work is often done early in the curve and after a time, the productivity peaks and then declines proportional to years in a given position. Employees tend to put themselves on remote control after a number of years in a position, get into a comfort zone, and while it may not be perceptible to them that their performance is declining, it is usually obvious to others.
That said, there certainly are employees who maintain a high level of productivity in the same position year after year. They they are in the minority. I find in my business that 7 years seems to be maximum effective time for a given position. After that, it's time to move up or move out.
In my own experience, I was a branch manager up in Boston for nearly 10 years. I was perfectly fine where I was and would have gladly worked that job for retirement. And to be honest, I was mailing it in on some days because the job of running a branch office became so easy for me (just hire good people under you!).
But when Regional VP job came up, I saw the handwriting on the wall and went ahead and applied for it. Even though it meant a move to New York, I saw myself in a "static" position up in Boston and I just didn't have the passion for the job I used to. By staying, I could well have been setting myself up for a pink slip. So moving to the higher position was the best move. Even though the cost of living down here wiped out most of my raise, my career was re-invigorated and I had sufficient challenges to keep me busy all the time. Also, the person who took my place in Boston is similarly re-energized Today, despite being in my mid-50s, I am much more valuable to the company as a Regional VP than I was as a branch manager 5 years ago. Now I do not take my job for granted. Over the next few years, I'm going to have to make a choice. Either go for the next rung on the ladder (or perhaps a lateral move to corporate) or go out on retirement. So again, I'm coming into another "move up or move out" situation.
Now I hope making this post doesn't jinx me and I walk into work next week to a pink slip!
Another challenge "more seasoned" employees have is keeping up with technology. Despite my age, I keep up with the emails, texts and social media of my younger colleagues as well as all the mobile apps. It's a matter of survival to me. Too many others in my age group took almost a pride in spurning all the technological changes (i.e. "I'm not carry no cellphone") and most of them red-slipped themselves into involuntary early retirement.
Not in my case. I was working harder and smarter in the years prior to my “force out” than I had ever in my career. I was working too much frankly. Weekends, during “vacations”, after hours... nothing was good enough. But I had a form of cosmic revenge. Since the force out, they had to hire four millennials to replace me, and have gone through several groups of them since. They have never recovered and I still get calls from the business side friends I worked with lamenting the mess they continue to be in. snicker. If they were smart they’d bring me back as a consultant... but the new exec’s ego exceeds his intelligence. Waiting for him to get the boot. But then, at that corp... execs are bullet proof no matter how much they F up.
“Now I hope making this post doesn’t jinx me and I walk into work next week to a pink slip!”
Good point and I hope for your sake you’re right - because while all you said is valid advice, I’ve known my share of people who took the same (or similar) steps and got summarily dismissed. Other factors overrode anything they did to forestall being laid off.
Strange isn't it - it's like folks just turn off the learning. We know how things worked out for the Luddites....
As I got older in my position, I got more of the jobs that no one wanted to do. Some of them were obsolete technology (career killer) or they have a high negative rating (you only get recognition when it messes up).
In a corporation, that can be bad (”What does AP do? I don’t know. Cut him”) because they only find out you were necessary after all Hell breaks loose. BTDT.
When someone turns 50, they need an exit strategy that makes you marketable at your age. Sometimes that strategy is to make yourself into a consultant that the company can hire back.
Thanks for the better explanation of what I was trying to say - I forgot to mention positional burnout as clearly as you did - I both observed it and suffered from it.
Sage counsel.
I think I never lost hustle because I’m almost always in a hurry and must mark accomplishments off just about every day. In retirement I still make goals and work plans and have a written multi year plan for the farm. I could see time to give up work though. I was not enjoying the people as much anymore and most of the kids were just doing the job with not much passion. Not all though. The biggest problem is that my peer group was gone. It became very hard to relate and not feel out of place.
Before I left I asked the youngsters what the needed from me. They wanted me to leave them my 40 years of experience. There is only one way to get that, 40 years. I gave them confidence we could get things done they said. We could and we did.
“Too comfty”? I never was or am but I am getting too tired to fight very hard. My son says I’ve earned my rest.