Before long, I found myself revealing the hidden cost of being a leader. As we exchanged our symptoms of physical suffering at moments of great stress, I was reminded of the refrain from Bruce Cockburn's song, The Trouble With Normal: "But the trouble with normal is it always gets worse."
As I left, I was startled that she expressed thankfulness for the opportunity to share this dirty secret of our sector!
It leaves me pondering whether it is right to bequeath such levels of distress to Gen-Y leaders - or should we, this generation of leaders, pause and honestly review what has gone before.
I know that when I entered the sector almost 30 years ago, it was with idealism and ignorance in equal measure.
While the up and coming generation have as much idealism, they are the internet generation; and this represents a game-changer for the sector.
This generation is critically aware and won't be fobbed off with platitudes. They are admirably discerning about how they expend their energy. They are results driven in a way that I so admire.
So, as I left my meeting - I realized that the crisis of leadership in the sector is more entrenched than I had first understood.
It is more than an issue of under investment in leadership training over the years. It is a crisis of credibility in the eyes of Gen-Y. The more able among them differentiate between busy activity and productive activity.
They want to invest their time and talent effectively and if we are to compete in the talent market place, we will need to understand what our unique selling point is.
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