Ask HN: Is it better to have leaders who are too old or too young? - happy-go-lucky
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danm07
This question should be rephrased to whether one would to to ere on the
younger or older side. The current phrasing will prompt a lot of middle of the
road answers.

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codezero
I started working in tech at 16 and I am 36 now. I've had bosses who were
older than me (in their 70s), and younger than me (now). Age has never been a
factor in what makes them good or bad at what they do.

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greenyoda
_" Age has never been a factor in what makes them good or bad at what they
do."_

That may be true, but there are certain factors that are somewhat correlated
with age, like experience, maturity and empathy. I also started working in
tech in my teens (and am pushing middle age now), and I wouldn't want to have
my teenage self (or even my 25 year old self) as a manager or leader. A lot of
the things I know today were learned through years of making painful and
expensive mistakes.

If your 16 year old self had been the CEO of a company, how would they have
handled having to lay off half their staff or dealing with a sexual harassment
complaint? Would they have had the experience to know that their favorite
architecture would never scale, or that their code was unmaintainable and
didn't have enough tests, or that they would run out of funding at their
current burn rate? Would they have listened to an older person who told them
that?

~~~
codezero
I don't consider myself as a good example.

I've had a 24 year old boss when I was 34 and they were (is) one of the best
leaders I've worked for. They've made hard decisions and been a voice of
reason when tackling complex issues. I can't say I would have been as good at
24. I've had a boss with a masters degree that was in their 40s who was an
absolute nightmare. People run the gamut. Maturity is important but not
strictly dependent on age for all people. Yes there are some bounds, I'm not
sure what they are or if they are consistent for everyone.

To flip your example: would an older person listen to a younger person who
gave them advice?

If the answer is yes to yours and my inquiries we should think of a better
heuristic for good leader that isn't strictly age dependent :)

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endswapper
What makes someone too old or too young?

