Retirement Coaching.
Retirement coaching is designed to support the smooth transition into retirement and the next stage of one’s career and life. This will usually involve two distinct phases – exploration and action
The exploration phase involves time and space to think about how you would like the transition into retirement to go, and to design retirement itself. This is an opportunity to take stock, assess where you are now, and envision your future. This may include thinking about things like:
How am I thinking about retirement at the moment? Does this represent a positive prospect for me? A negative one? Do I have mixed feelings or concerns?
What approach do I wish to take to this period and in what mindset do I wish to be when I leave?
How do I appraise and summarise my career to date? What will be my legacy/reputation?
What are my needs for fulfilment? How will I find ways to express in retirement whether or not they have been met by my career to date?
What are my personal values, strengths and motivators and how do I wish to express those, both during this transitional period and in retirement?
Who am I and how will I understand myself in retirement?
What about my meaning and purpose?
Depending upon your specific requirements and focus areas, we may look at ways to manage the change process effectively, manage relationships and address an optimal balance to meet your work, leisure and wellbeing needs.
The action phase involves the planning and implementation of your transition plan to guide you through the process, and into retirement. This may be very structured and formal, abstract and informal, or some other format, as you prefer. Your plan may include defining the specific activities you intend to pursue, or describing a broader philosophy you will choose to adopt. This stage includes steps to ensure you are equipped to review your transition plan and take steps to adjust it as you progress.
Ongoing support throughout the process provides you with a sounding board as well as practical and emotional support. This is a coached programme and accordingly will present you with the opportunity to shape the specific focus areas and support you require. This will involve goal setting at an early stage and enable you to define your expectations, ways of working, desired outcomes and measures of success.
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Tim
Tim was a partner approaching retirement unclear about his future direction. He was stressed about the prospect of leaving an all-encompassing working life and struggled to maintain a sense of identity. With coaching, Tim was able to manage the change with confidence, take stock of his career and create a clear sense of his achievements, strengths and personal values. With a new self-awareness, and understanding of the personal needs his work was meeting, he semi-retired into a rewarding part-time role working to support young offenders get back into education and work.
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Maria
A senior director choosing an early retirement, Maria wished to define a transition plan to ensure her retirement was suitably rewarding and meaningful. She wished to find a direction which had a purpose and enabled her to utilise her strengths and leadership experience in a sustainable way, while also making time for her creative writing ambitions. Through coaching Maria gained clarity about her needs, personality characteristics and preferences. She was then able to explore and sense check ideas for her retirement and define an effective transition plan.
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Julian
Senior director, Julian, was looking forward to his retirement following a period of ill health. He wanted support to ensure his exit was smooth and that he left his colleagues and teams well-equipped and ready to succeed him. The coaching work focused primarily on succession planning and being prepared to move on from work responsibilities.