香蕉秀

About a year ago, I asked in听听if wisdom that deepens with age, when joined with a passion for leaving the world a better place, translate into a unique path to social impact. Is there a special 鈥渆ncore career鈥� secret sauce, one that allows someone with maturity and the desire to give back to have a super-sized impact?

At the time, Encore.org, where I work, was embarking on research to see whether programs that use what we call 鈥渆ncore talent鈥� experience forms of impact that make a sometimes unexpected and often substantial difference.

Two recent reports suggest the answer is yes.

Masters in Service to Society

The first,听听reports on the observations of more than 100 supervisors and managers in social-purpose organizations on the impact of nearly 1,700 people in encore roles. One of the biggest surprises from the data is that many introduced improvements conventionally associated with the work of full-time, paid staff鈥攕uch as contributing new approaches, tools, and ideas to the organization.

The second,听听reports on three case studies. The author, Jacquelyn B. James, co-director of Boston College鈥檚 Center on Aging and Work (which hosts the AGEnda blog), teases out the dynamics whereby Encore fellows (participants in the听, who serve one-year, stipended fellowships) combine business skills acquired over decades in the private sector with personal attributes to deliver exceptional value to the organizations they serve. For example, across all three cases, she noted that the fellows brought an ability to organize networks and groups, patience with process, good listening and negotiation skills, and a generally high level of emotional maturity.

Here鈥檚 that recipe for the 鈥渆ncore secret sauce.鈥� The attributes that Dr. James observed are reflected precisely in the听听on mastery. And when we asked the respondents in our Encore Talent Impact survey whether the characteristics of mastery were present in the people they supervised, very high percentages said they were. For example, 听more than 80 percent of these encore engagements were carried out by people who 鈥渟uccessfully explained, mentored, coached and built relationships with others.

Opening the Door to Encore Talent

It鈥檚 important to recognize that these characteristics, so tied to our notions of wisdom, translate into impact at a time when many people are rethinking the so-called 鈥渞etirement years,鈥� seeking instead to use their time and accumulated experience to improve their communities or to help future generations succeed.

We also know that often, abundant desire does not find its match in opportunity. According to听, 21.5 million people hope to move into social-purpose encore roles. But stubborn barriers still keep experienced adults from making the most of their talents in organizations that could benefit from them. Ageist stereotypes about the productivity of older people, whether in volunteer or paid roles, persist. And many nonprofits still won鈥檛 gamble on people coming to them from a corporate background. 鈥淭hey won鈥檛 fit in our culture,鈥� they say.

It鈥檚 time to break down the barriers that keep talented people who want to serve from contributing to the nonprofit sector, which badly needs their talents. Nonprofits that understand the 鈥渟ecret sauce鈥� of wisdom, experience, and mastery will welcome encore-stage adults in service of their mission. As these two reports illustrate, they鈥檒l reap significant gains.