Unconventional advice on hugging, quitting and getting hired after 50
Most people who head to Austin, Texas for the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals, as I just did, go for the films, bands and the newest, coolest technology. I went for the sessions about new, fulfilling ways to work as a manager and as an employee — especially if you’re a boomer.
When did it become uncool to feel? When did it become taboo to show emotion?
— Ryan Fey, Omelet ad agency, at SXSW
Let me share highlights from three workplace sessions I attended that might lead you to, in the words of Steve Jobs, think different. Even the names of the panels were thought-provoking: Work As We Knew It Is Over — Jobs As Adventures; Leading With Love: The Future of Emotional Leadership and The Boomer Millennial: A Retiree Becomes an Intern.
Work As We Knew It Is Over
The first session was led by three high-powered women from the human resources world: Patty McCord, a consultant to startups who formerly worked at Silicon Valley firms such as Netflix and Sun; Colleen McCreary, chief people officer at the video platform VEVO; and Beth Steinberg, former head of people at companies like Facebook and Nike, whose Mensch Ventures now helps companies with talent issues.