Breaking Through the Age Barrier
Jim Taggart
At a young age in the electrical industry, I was moved into a sales management position. Most of the individuals I called on were older than me and this often made it difficult to relate to my customers. Don’t get me wrong, in the pure work environment I knew my technical stuff and was strong in problem solving. However, in social settings it was more difficult to relate.
In the late 1980s and early 90s, our industry was still somewhat of an “old boys club.” It was difficult for me to attend and feel comfortable at industry events. Back in those “old days,” EFC was not the most accommodating in trying to make young, first-time attendees feel comfortable.
However, I was fortunate enough to have a strong boss who forced me to attend the EFC events. I owe a great deal of thanks to Reg Clark who pushed me to get out of my comfort zone. I have to admit the first 4-5 events were like torture; no one to really talk to and socialize with. However I stuck with it, and continued to attend the industry events and pushed to break out of my shell and network. To my surprise, it worked and I ended up making new friends and getting involved in the EFC committees. The old industry veterans turned out to be friends rather than foes.
Industry leaders like Doug Baldwin, Charlie Cipolla and Bill Saylor helped the rookie in me join and feel comfortable in participating. It is now up to the next generation of “old farts” to be leaders and make a real effort to support rising industry stars.
I’m pleased that our industry has decided to reach out to young professionals and form the Young Professionals Network (YPN). Electro-Federation Canada’s YPN is a new program designed to bring a community of emerging industry professionals together. YPN unites and strengthens young professionals who have the tenacity, creativity and drive to move this market forward. The purpose of YPN is to promote peer-to-peer interaction and empower the future leaders with insight on industry best practices and leadership strategies.
I strongly encourage all the seasoned, “grey-haired” professionals in our industry to support EFC’s new YPN. Push your young talented employees to get involved, sponsor an YPN event, support the EFC scholarship program, and mentor a young, potential star!
Read more in CEW from Jim Taggart:
– We Need to Engage More Women in the Industry. Me included
– Not Your Typical Industry Association
– Breaking Through the Age Barrier
– Amazon: Friend, Foe or Frenemy?
– Electrical Industry – Mergers and Acquisition
– Understanding and Responding to Disparity
Profile: Jim Taggart: A Steady Hand, A Stellar Career
Jim Taggart is President, Electro-Federation Canada.
