Before you’re tempted to think this is a piece about aliens living in human bodies, allow me to assure you that it’s about you and the body you’re currently living in. I say “currently living in” intentionally as the body you were living in 10, 20 or 30 years ago isn’t the same body as the one you’re living in right now.
Medical science tells us that about 330 billion cells are replaced in the human body every day. Before you think that explains why you feel so exhausted, let me assure you that that’s equivalent to about one percent of all the cells in your body!
Despite the trillions of cells in your body, those cells you have today are not the same cells that you had yesterday. As cells age over time and become damaged, your body is constantly replacing them.
You’ve probably heard it said that your body replaces its cells every seven years. Well, that’s just not true. Some cells in your body – in your heart, brain and eyes – are with you for life.
But one objective look in the mirror will assure you that you’re certainly not living in the body you had 10, 20 or 30 years ago!
And the body you have now might not be able to do the things you were able to do 10, 20 or 30 years ago.
The fact of the matter is that the body you’re in today also interacts very differently with the world and other people fin comparison to the body you had in years gone by. One of the reasons for this is plain and simple ageing!
But, while your body changes as it ages, it IS possible to manage that ageing process to slow it down and prevent many of the conditions of ageing that rear their ugly heads.
Sadly, many intelligent, successful men and women simply don’t manage their health as they could and should. In fact when conducting Age Management sessions for senior executives, I teasingly tell them that they probably look after their cars better than they look after their bodies … they ensure their cars go in for their regular services but it never occurs to them to go to their doctor for regular check-ups.
But, while they can replace their cars every five years, they’re stuck with their bodies for life. Make you think, doesn’t it?
Now the same applies to your company. Yes, companies also age and aren’t the same company they were when they were started so many years ago. Whereas they might have been agile and progressive in their start-up phase, they might have settled into middle or old age with very little being done to manage their age.
The way to manage your age is proactively – prevention is better than cure. So, like that ageing body of yours where preventative steps are much more effective in avoiding the health issues that come from having neglected your health, your company’s ageing needs to be managed in a proactive, preventative manner.
It’s far easier to prevent your company developing a toxic culture than to try to fix a toxic culture. And it’s far easier to keep your leadership team compassionate, agile and resilient by ensuring your leaders are developed on an ongoing basis than to let them get out of condition, so to speak, and then try to get them back to match fitness when they are proverbially over weight and out of breath.
So, while the body you’re living in today is very different from your seven, 14 or 21-year-old body, the same applies to your company – it’s a very different company from the one it was even two years ago. What, then, are you doing to ensure that the company will stay in good health despite the ravages of time … and a bunch of other challenges?
The secret lies in ensuring your leadership teams, yes, teams, are helped to reinvent themselves so they can lead the very different company that now exists. Don’t skimp on your leadership development – it could save a lot of heartache.
Alan Hosking is the Publisher of HR Future magazine, www.hrfuture.net and @HRFuturemag. He is an internationally recognised authority on leadership competencies for the future and teaches experienced and younger business leaders how to lead with empathy, compassion, integrity, purpose and agility. He has been an Age Management Coach for two decades. In 2018, he was named by US-based web site Disruptordaily.com as one of the “Top 25 Future of Work Influencers to Follow on Twitter“. In 2020, he was named one of the “Top 200 Global Power Thought Leaders to watch in 2021” by peopleHum in India. In 2022, he has been named on the Power List of the “Top 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership in 2022” by LeaderHum.
