Does Age Matter for Servant Leadership?

In last week’s blog (“The Transforming Power of Servant Leadership”), my colleague Kevin Monroe suggested that servant leadership was transformative for a variety of reasons, including that it is “egalitarian” – anyone can be a servant-leader.

Anyone? Don’t you need the kind of wisdom that comes with age in order to succeed as a servant-leader?

That conclusion might be supported by a recent study of adult intelligence published in the Journal of Psychology. Researchers found that our intellectual capacities change as we get older. Certain aspects of intelligence – processing speed and working memory, for example – peak between ages 18 and 35. What we call “emotional intelligence,” however, peaks around age 40 and does not decline until we are in our 60s.

Given that emotional intelligence is foundational to effective servant leadership, it would seem that, as servant-leaders, we might get better with age.

But that doesn’t in any way exclude youth from servant leadership.

Indeed, Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17. Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg was named Time magazine “Person of the Year” at age 26. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. won his Nobel Peace Prize at the old age of 35 (which is the average age of an officer today in the US Air Force).

Under the chairmanship of JRD Tata, India’s Tata Group of companies grew to what it is today – a force in international commerce with revenues in excess of $100 billion. Highly esteemed as a servant-leader, JRD once said:

“The future belongs to the young. We must not only trust them with responsibility but must thrust it upon them whilst they are still young and full of energy, zest, hope and even illusions. However heart-breaking it may be to ourselves, we must make way for the new generations even when we feel we are still in our prime.”

JRD Tata never doubted that young people could be great leaders. And JRD would know. He became Tata Group chairman at age 34!

What do you think? Does age matter for servant leadership?

Let us know.

And if you are interested, you can find more on the study of adult intelligence as described in the Wall Street Journal by clicking here.