Blog #79: Leading With a View

(Part 4 of the “What We Bring After 50” September series)

“Unless you’re the lead dog, the view never changes.” You’ve heard that one, right?

The views can be amazing.

It usually gets tossed around in boardrooms or locker rooms—some attempt to glamorize being “in charge.” But here’s the twist: by the time you’ve hit your fifties and beyond, with all your lived experience—recessions, family drama, workplace politics, and health scares—you are the lead dog. You have a perspective and steadiness that define a good leader.

Time to own your power. You’re not trotting along in someone else’s harness anymore. You’re steering the sled. And the view? It’s wider, deeper, and a whole lot more interesting than it was back when you were hustling to keep up.

Here’s what that leadership looks like in real life—without the podium, the megaphone, or the buzzwords:

• Crisis steadiness. When others panic, you breathe. You’ve seen skies fall before, and you know how to pause, assess, and act. Calm is your superpower, providing you clarity and the space required to take the right action, and not just a reaction.

• Conflict mediation. Hot tempers? Been there. You’ve got the empathy to cool things down, hold space for different truths, and guide people back from the edge. In today’s world of taunts and slams, what could be more necessary?

• Advocacy & activism. With fewer illusions—and often more freedom—you speak up. Not out of ego, but out of conviction. Your voice calls for justice, and your presence defines fearlessness.

• Financial savvy. Survived a recession (or two)? Paid off debt? Pivoted careers midstream? Your bank account may not look like Wall Street’s, but you know resilience in dollars and cents. These skills can help others around you from many generations.

• Reinvention models. You’ve shown the world that transformation doesn’t stop at 25 or 35. Career, lifestyle, identity—reinvention has no expiration date. Authenticity and values drive your metamorphosis today. And people see that!

• Boards and commissions. Organizations thrive when seasoned voices are at the table. You bring insight that no résumé can manufacture. We don’t have to lead from the front. We can lead from within, too.

This isn’t leadership that shouts. It’s leadership that steadies, that challenges, that moves the needle simply by showing up with wisdom and credibility earned over decades.

So the next time you catch yourself saying, I’m not a leader, stop. If you’ve weathered storms, spoken up when it counted, reinvented yourself, or simply calmed a room in chaos—you’re already leading. The world doesn’t need more loud leaders. It needs the kind who’ve lived, learned, and still have the grit to guide. Claim your leadership. The world needs to see it through your eyes.

If this post made you smile, nod, or mutter “yes, exactly,” don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with someone who needs to remember that lived experience is gold. Come join me at WonderCrone.com, where leadership is about showing up, speaking truth, and leading from the wisdom you’ve earned.