From a Valued Contributor to a “Blocker”

I was recently speaking at an event and had the most fascinating conversation with a gentleman who was considered a “Blocker” by his employer and was asked to retire. And I use the word “asked” very loosely here.

I had no idea what he was talking about and was not familiar with the term Blocker, so I asked him to share more with me.  Seems that after 20 or so years with the organization, staying in the senior leadership role he earned after a couple of decades of serving, was “blocking” the path for someone younger.  He went on to add that in the boardroom where the unfortunate conversation was held, there was a grid drawn on the whiteboard with six boxes. Each box signified a division of the company and within each box the Blockers were listed.  The writing was definitely on the wall or the whiteboard in this case.

When I looked up the term, I read that a Blocker is an unforeseen encumbrance to work in progress that threatens a team’s ability to achieve its goals.  Or someone who loves to get in the way of something happening.  Can you imagine how it must have felt to go from a valued contributor to someone who is getting in the way or an encumbrance to the company’s work?

Across the globe unprecedented population aging is impacting policies, practices and institutions of all types in dramatic ways.  And it’s just beginning.  For some this is a crisis and they ignore the promise that a multi-generational and diverse pool of talent offers.  For the more enlightened organizations, older workers provide opportunity and they understand that age is the next frontier in their HR strategies.

Does it make sense for reasons of age alone, to discard, disregard or “block”  the knowledge, experience and wisdom of our older workers?