Janey Cutler, an 80-year-old great-grandmother from Wishaw, Scotland, is getting nearly as much press in the U.K. as the new Prime Minister, David Cameron, after her astonishing performance earlier this month on “Britain’s Got Talent”. The comparison to fellow Scotswoman Susan Boyle, last year’s phenom from the show, is inevitable, if not entirely spot-on. Still, Janey stole the show, as well as the hearts of most of the million-plus who’ve watch her magnificent rendition of “No Regrets” on YouTube since her episode aired.

Meanwhile, in the states, 88-year-old Betty White has suddenly become more popular than at any other time in her long career, thanks to a Snickers candy bar commercial that aired during the 2010 Super Bowl, and culminating (so far) in last Saturday’s much-hyped hosting of “Saturday Night Live”.

Whether or not you find either or both of these octogenarians entertaining is beside the point of this blog post. Here are some things I think are the point:

• Both women are clearly talented. And clearly old.
• They’ve each garnered tremendous support from people whose hearts have been lightened not only by their respective performances, but by their willingness to step into (or back into, in Betty’s case) the spotlight. Janey’s singing, and her comments afterward (if you can understand them – I can – I’m married to a Scot) have evoked both laughter and tears (tears of support) from many. I can only imagine the number of times the phrase “you go, girl” has been uttered in the last few weeks, on both sides of the Atlantic.
• These two have highlighted the important realization that, though they’re of mature years, they’re not, to quote Monty Python, “dead yet”.

If you’re in a position to hire, or lead, employees, you’re undoubtedly noticing that the over-60-set is not, in fact, moving out of the way like so many were predicting they would not so long ago. You’re getting more applications from them, and you’re being challenged to lead, manage, and motivate them to work with all their Discretionary Effort. Some thoughts:

• Don’t underestimate older workers. They’re a force to be  reckoned with. And led, and encouraged, and developed. Yes, I said developed. Just as they’re not dead yet, they’re also not done growing and learning.
• Don’t stick them all in the same box. There’s as much diversity among them as there is in any generational cohort.
• Capitalize on what they bring to the job, that younger workers don’t. Experience, perspective, institutional history, and much more.
• Keep performance standards high. To do otherwise perpetrates an injustice on everyone – the older workers, younger workers, your customers, and your shareholders. Janey Cutler and Betty White have shown us they can keep up with the best of ‘em.

Richard Hadden (twitter at http://twitter.com/ContentedCows) is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk, and the followup Contented Cows MOOve Faster. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.