Like the slogan that advertises “aging is inevitable, maturing is optional,” no guarantee exists that advancing one’s age chronologically means advancing one’s personal development. Mark Zuckerberg, the twenty-something CEO of Facebook, has been under fire for a message sent when he was 19 that critics are using to show the company’s lack of concern for privacy.
The question I saw in this incident was not a customer service issue–whether Facebook flaunts its success by downplaying what its customers want. I was curious about the suggestion to absolve Zuckerberg, now, merely because he was a teenager at the time. I also thought of discussions I’ve had with executives regarding their awareness that their beliefs become part of the organizations they lead. I pondered further about organizations that grow and develop (or stagnate) with the maturity and development of their leaders (Welch at GE, Nardelli at Home Depot).
Aging is inevitable
Philosophers, psychologists, and gurus have studied and written for ages about human development– how we come to hold the beliefs we do, whether they are changeable, and how our beliefs and our actions intertwine. By age 3, children are able to make distinctions between issues of right/wrong (it’s wrong to hit someone when unprovoked) and social/convention issues (raise your hand to speak). As we grow, we can learn to think at more complex levels. But there is no guarantee that this will happen on its own; we need learning and external experiences that “shift our paradigms” or “rock our world.”
If someone believes at age 19, apparently like Zuckerberg did, that people are gullible, naive and can be taken advantage of, how likely is that belief to change over time? How will such a belief manifest itself in an organization? If Zuckerberg’s definition of “healing the world” involves sharing personal information, how does that vision affect his business, his willingness to listen? (Perhaps he gets a reprieve because recent brain research shows that our cortex operating systems aren’t “mature” until around 25 years of age? I think not; besides, parents already knew this.)
In a more common example, if a leader believes she knows all the issues and the possible solutions in her field better than anyone else–has seen it all before–how likely is she to hear the proposals anyone makes to her? When we are around people who behave this way, we know it, and we adapt: usually by giving up on persuading that leader. In my experience, the leader thinks no one knows or sees it, that this behavior is a secret! As long as success continues, so does the behavior.
When leaders receive enough information (feedback) from a credible person(s) that something they are doing, some assumption by which they are making decisions and behaving, has impeded or is about to impede their progress or success, they usually pay attention. An expression of doubt is not weakness, but a sign that persuasion and listening are a possibility.
Will Zuckerberg’s negative press have any effect on his assumptions as they are played out in Facebook’s policies? Does he have a coach or confidante who “speaks truth to power” to help him move to more sophisticated levels of thinking and decision making (as Buffet has done for Gates)?
What do you think? How have your beliefs changed over time? Do you periodically list and then challenge your assumptions and beliefs? I invite you to share and declare.
Cathy
