A couple of weeks ago I was reading an article about Lindsey Vonn, the American World Cup ski champion, who ended her racing career in 2019 and launched a comeback this winter.
She’s got a freshly honed Olympic physique, a new titanium knee, and she just placed 15th in downhill skiing at the Ski Worlds event—at the elderly age of 40.
All of us who are 50-plus reading this are like, “Pffft, 40 is still young!” But for athletes, 40 is like 60 in the corporate world, right? Lindsey’s oldest competitor at the race was 34.
Get this. According to AP writer Andrew Dampf, “Austrian and Swiss former champions suggested she was ‘crazy’ to race downhill at her age, attributing it to a lack of purpose in retirement.”
<<spitting out my coffee emoji>>
Andrew ends his piece with an epic quote from Lindsey: “It’s been done by men so why can’t it be done by a woman? Hopefully I can set a new standard of what’s possible.”
And that, my friends, is what I want to talk about.
Lindsey’s making this amazing comeback. Fellow ski champion Mikaela Shiffrin is coming back now too.
For those of us desperate for good news right now, these comebacks stories are a breath of fresh air. Because the pressure on women around aging is so much different than around men.
I remember one of the few women at the highest level in the speaking industry when I first started out telling me, “You’ve really got to do all the business you can do by the time you’re 45. Because you can’t get hired after that.” Even though men can ride the career track until they’re toothless 120-year-olds. I mean, the more grey hair and wrinkles on men the better, right?
But for women, there’s all of this weird externally created pressure around age. I look at somebody like a LeBron, who’s like, I don’t know how old he is, but there’s no pressure for him to retire. Then you have all these women, particularly in soccer, basketball, and skiing, who are retiring or being repeatedly asked, “When are you retiring?” starting in their mid-thirties. Guys don’t get the same questions, lucky dogs.
So here’s my question. Are we women stepping back or out of the workforce faster than our male counterparts because of this false narrative around our age? Are we consciously or unconsciously opting out of challenges before we actually need to?
Soccer’s Hope Solo just stepped back onto the field after almost a decade away at the ripe old age of 43. “What was enticing for me from the get-go about this tournament is that I can do things my way,” she told The Athletic.
What’s her way? She’s put together a “a mix of young talent and a handful of legends,” which is proving to be a winning formula for the team. I love that. In my mind, part of what makes a great team is the variety of ages and backgrounds and skills and experiences they bring to the table.
Think about it. When we were younger, learning by osmosis from more experienced role models – like that speaker who warned me about the age barrier for women – was maybe one of the most important aspects to our career growth paths. Older players play an important role in polishing the up and coming “diamonds in the rough.”
Athletics is an extreme example. But this early ageing out, just abandoning the young kids, happens everywhere. On the corporate career ladder. Starting your own business. Making a pivot in your career or industry.
A WSJ article recently discussed a study done by economists from MIT, Northwestern, the University of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Census Bureau on millions of American companies. “The highest success rates in entrepreneurship,” the authors found, “come from founders in middle age and beyond.”
So there you have it. Right now, today, at this stage in your career, is your time to shine. It’s your time to stay in the game and kick so much bootie people call you a legend when you’re gone. Start by asking yourself these questions.
5 Questions to Ask That Make Age Your Superpower
“If I were 35 right now, would I be making the same decision?”
“What was I afraid to try when I was younger that I can try now?”
“If I were a guy at my same age, what would I have the audacity to go for?”
“How can I leverage my organization’s young talent to achieve something bigger than we could do separately?”
“How can I leverage my collected wisdom and experience to launch a new project, pivot in a new direction, or leap to the top of the career ladder?”
“What constraints did I have when I was younger that I no longer have now?”
“What do I have to do to be a true ‘legend’ in my field?”
“If I were LeBron James, would I be thinking about retiring or winning?”
And remember, your collected wisdom and experience is a feature of your soon-to-be legendary status, my friend, not a bug.
WHAT’S NEXT? Right now, at Cindy Solomon & Associates, we are having a blast empowering Courageous Leaders to leverage their experience in absolutely audacious new ways. If you’re an executive or leader seeking guidance in how to engage, inspire, and develop your teams, go to www.courageousleadershipinstitute.com and sign them up for a webinar, workshop, or keynote customized to your organization’s training needs.
Cindy Solomon is CEO of the Courageous Leadership Institute, a thriving leadership and customer experience training organization with access to up-to-the-minute insights on how today’s most innovative corporations are defining the future of leadership. Learn more at www.CourageousLeadershipInstitute.com.
