Boomers beware: you may lose your top talent. The emerging Generation X cohort is poised to take on senior leadership positions and the top performers are demanding a seat at the table. Bottom line: in this environment of constant change and uncertainty, the emerging Generation X leaders bring a set of skills and values that are essential to addressing today’s challenges.     If the opportunity to share leadership does not surface, the most valued Gen-Xers in your organization will likely walk out the door and find something elsewhere.  If you haven’t seen the recent HBR article by Tamara J. Erickson, it’s really worth a read.  It also dovetails with what we’ve been discussing in our Convergence report.

This is my golden year. In some traditions when the year you were born coincides with your actual age, it is referred to as the “golden year.”  Next month I will be 55 and, you guessed it, I was born in 1955.

But like most baby boomers, that number has no correlation to my self-perception. I am, in fact, wondering how a 32 year old man such as myself can actually have a 55th birthday.

This cognitive dissonance first surfaced about three years ago.  My wife and I, with some friends, went to the Oakland Coliseum to see a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young concert.  Prior to the start, I stand up, look around and am amazed by the crowd.  “Who are all these old people, and why do they like my music?”

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