When I was a Teenager, I was told that females like to appear younger than they are… When I became a Manager, I was told that Managers need to appear older than they are!
At age of 24 : I decided to teach leadership to working professionals doing their executive MBA.
When I reached out to faculties at premier institutes, most of them discouraged me saying “You look even younger than students of institute….they won’t learn from you".
But still I went ahead and taught to working professionals 10 years older than me.
In less than one year, I built my reputation as an effective management professor
At age of 30 : I wanted to test myself in training and facilitating workshops on strategy/ leadership/org development for senior management.
When I spoke to established trainers and agencies in the field, most of them discouraged me saying, companies would immediately reject me because I would be too young to facilitate workshops for senior management. But still I went ahead and tested out their doubts and my self-beliefs:
In three years, I built a reputation as an effective leadership trainer and facilitator.
At age of 34: I started to explore myself in areas of strategy/org development consulting and leadership coaching for CEOs/HR Heads. When I connected with established management consulting and executive coaching firms, they advised me to stick to training and facilitating and not to take up consulting/coaching as that role requires lot of wisdom and maturity. (maturity/wisdom comes with age - that’s the message they were conveying)
This time again, I was determined to challenge the belief of “Maturity and Wisdom comes with Age”
In four years, I was able to win the trust & confidence of CEOs and HR Heads as a Strategic OD Consultant. So, I didn’t allowed my AGE to dictate my profile PAGE. How about you?
"Age is an issue of mind over matter, if you don't mind it...it won't matter" - Mark Twain
#Ameet Dubey #Leadership & Org Development #Strategy & Change Management.