Transitioning from working full-time to finding purpose and fulfilment in the third life
- The situation: C felt that he had achieved a lot during his working life and built a successful career as a senior executive. He came to coaching with a view to plan his retirement.
- The coaching objective: During the coaching sessions, it materialised that he enjoyed sharing his experience and mentoring others but felt that reaching the milestone of 60 years he wanted to achieve a balance between flexibility and being able to take extended vacations, travelling and pursuing some hobbies whilst retaining the aspects of his career and work life he enjoyed the most - advising and mentoring.
The situation
C felt that he had achieved a lot during his working life and built a successful career as a senior executive. He came to coaching with a view to plan his retirement.
Working together
During the coaching sessions, it materialised that he enjoyed sharing his experience and mentoring others but felt that reaching the milestone of 60 years he wanted to achieve a balance between flexibility and being able to take extended vacations, travelling and pursuing some hobbies whilst retaining the aspects of his career and work life he enjoyed the most – advising and mentoring. His final coaching objective was to work out the steps to make this happen. He had also realised that his life partner had similar thoughts and ambitions and this meant that he had to plan first for himself and then had to be prepared to share and collaborate with his partner to accommodate her and his needs.
C set up a consulting business and used his network to find portfolio work allowing him to work as a consultant allowing him to negotiate the scope of his work more flexibility than being an employee. He could also take breaks between assignments to travel and keep days free to for his own hobbies and interests. During the coaching process, he gained a firm understanding that work provided him with mental stimulation and social contacts and he decided that both aspects were important to him. As the coaching progressed, he started to use his network find opportunities for mentoring young entrepreneurs.
The outcome
C reflected at the end of coaching sessions that without the coaching he would have taken full retirement. He advised that his hesitancy to start thinking about retirement when he started the coaching was due to the fact that he was not ready for full retirement . Coaching allowed him to step away from what he believed was the “thing to do when you retire” and assess how he could shape his third life.
The systemic aspect
C utilised his network to make the transition from full-time employment to self-employed consultant. He also had to collaborate with his life partner providing a vision of the future, asking her to provide this vision and the two of them had to bring the vision of their future together. They both reflected that previously they had processed their careers in parallel and generally could make changes in isolation without having to compromise. During the coaching C became very aware of his desire to give back to others and worked out what would give him real purpose – sharing his knowledge and experience to make it easier for young entrepreneurs by guiding and mentoring.