If we lived in China, it wouldn’t be necessary to have this discussion. Many Asian cultures, including Chinese culture, understand this intrinsically: there’s a lot of value that comes from growing older.
Sure, you can’t go out and party like a 20-year old anymore but there’s still plenty that you can bring to the boardroom table and to your business. And fortunately, none of them involve drinking like a fish.
The idea that a woman is no longer able to contribute because she’s gotten a little older feels like it belongs in the last century. Yet, if we take a quick look at the bottom line – that’s how businesses seem to think.
Women are often overlooked for promotion to the boardroom, worse even when they are invited to the top table, they’re often underpaid.
Yet, when we talk to women of a certain age – they’re still optimistic. They’re not dwelling on the obstacles that life has put in their way; they’re focusing on the opportunities and we think you should too.
So, here are 5 tips for owning your age and showing that you’ve still got what it takes to succeed.
- Understand your territory and mark it out. Youth is for the insecure. Once you hit 45, you know who you are, what you’re good at and you can explain this to anyone who asks. Mark out your territory at work, feel free to defend it and to cooperate with others, play to your strengths and make sure other people know what those strengths are.
- Let go of the past. If you want to move forward, you’ve got to stop looking back. Past glories can’t shelter you from the challenges of the journey to come and past failures have no power to hold you back. Take what you’ve learned and use it to create a more meaningful future in the workplace. Experience is something that comes with age and youth can’t replicate it easily.
- Embrace change. Sure, it sounds like every management cliché ever, but life is change. In fact, it would be incredibly dull if it wasn’t. Can you imagine having the same meetings every day and dealing with the same tasks every day? You’d snore your way to retirement. Getting to 45 means that you’ve already dealt with a million changes. You can handle anything now.
- Pursue your passion. One of the nice things about hitting 45 is that you’ve had some time to work out what really matters to you, in life as a whole. That means you’re in the perfect position to turn your work and business life into something fun. Think about what makes you happiest and pursue a career doing just that. You don’t owe anybody an explanation for this either – just do it.
- Embrace your age. Don’t try and hide your age. It looks graceless and foolish. The joy of being a little older is that people ought to take your more seriously. Managers, directors, etc. are always older – so enjoy being older, not everybody gets a chance at it.
The joy of being a mature woman is that you’ve, to some extent, been there and done it. You’ve messed up, let some folks down, failed a few times, gone through the relationship wringer, etc. and yet, you’re still here and you’ve got something that the kids don’t have.
The experience to know what you want and how to get it. That’s sexy and that’s awesome. Being 45 or over isn’t a curse, it’s a blessing. Don’t let ANYONE convince you otherwise.
