Throw your dream into space like a kite. you don't know what it will bring back: a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country"

Retirement coaching differs from other types of coaching in a few key ways: most retirement coaches have developed expertise in this major life change through specialized training and certification, our own experience with retirement, and our membership in the Retirement Coaching Association. 

We also understand (and are living through) the multiple changes that happen at this stage of life. For instance:

• We understand the identity shift that happens after leaving a senior  leadership role and that transition to retirement for high-achievers requires a period of processing and decompression.
• We know that the blank page of retirement can feel overwhelming at first with the many opportunities others seek us out for before we've had time to  really think about what we want and need.
• We get that after a period of rest and reflection, a desire to build a legacy and continue to contribute in significant ways often emerges.
• We have witnessed the dynamics in couples who retire on different timelines and the impact this has on the quality of the relationship.
• We work with people who, in addition to leaving the workforce, are empty-nesters, or have taken on care-giving for older family members and feel exhausted and isolated.
• We address the reality of aging, and are able to engage in conversations about legacy, mortality and end-of-life decision-making.

It's been my experience in life that we often have no idea about something until we are exposed to it. One way to assess if you will gain anything from retirement coaching is to take my free assessment, the Retirement Readiness Index. I designed this tool to help people become more aware of the multiple dimensions of retirement beyond financial considerations. 

With nothing more than your name and e-mail, and about 10-15 minutes of your time, you'll get an accurate snapshot of how ready you are for a shift in your identity, the extent to which you have interests and activities outside your career, and the status of your relationships outside work. 

Assess the assessment here.

While there are no absolute differences, there are a few broad  themes in how women and men experience retirement differently. Here are  some examples:

IDENTITY:
Women:  Often derive identity from multiple roles (career, family, friendships,  care-giving, community) so they have a greater number of ways to think  about who they are.
Men: Often derive a greater proportion  of identity from occupation and status, so the loss of a professional  identity can hit them harder.

SOCIAL CONNECTION:
Women: Often maintain broader friendship networks outside work which continue after their careers.
Men: More likely to lose daily social interaction because many friendships were work-based.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT:
Women: Greater likelihood to process emotions through conversation and  relationships, and are more open to seeking outside support such as  coaching.
Men: May struggle to talk openly about loneliness,  loss of status or grief and are less likely to seek ways to process the  emotional fallout of retirement.

Generally, many men tell me  they miss feeling useful once they walk away from their careers, while  many women tell me they're trying to figure out what they want after decades of putting everyone else first. 

While both coaches and therapists help individuals improve their lives, therapists typically focus on looking back in time to address mental health or family-of-origin issues and past traumas, while coaches focus on the future, helping individuals achieve their goals or become who they've always longed to be. 

Of all the different ways we can learn, grow and change, coaching is by far the most powerful modality because it's all about you—your unique circumstances, your hopes and desires, and it builds on your entire life experience to date. 

Coaching offers you the ability to have the most open-hearted and authentic conversations you can have about what you most need to be happy, healthy and engaged with the world. If you are ready to proactively fuel your future with deeper awareness, insights and decisions, coaching is a great fit for you.

Absolutely. In many ways, the months before making the decision to leave work are in fact the best time to start designing your transition – this way you intentionally design what is waiting for you when you hand in your keys and walk away from your career.

For some people, retirement means a full stop, making the leap from work to leisure. For others it's a pivot, a second (or third) act or a chance to go back and pick of the threads of the life not yet lived. 

If you're looking to answer the question of what's next? you're in the right place.

One of the important parts of starting to work with a coach is to assess how you feel in—and after—our initial discovery call. It's critical that you have a sense that there is chemistry between us as I will be the person you will share what you most long for and want to create.

During that first call, you can ask all the questions you have about how coaching works, about my qualifications and experience, and what you can expect from our work together. In addition, once we start working together, I will regularly ask you how the process is unfolding for you and will make sure I am meeting your expectations. 

In my experience, major transitions such as leaving work and carving out a new identity—and life—typically take three-to-six months of biweekly sessions. This is why my most popular programs are the Three-Month Transition Package and my Six-Month Next Chapter Strategy.

If a coaching package seems like a big commitment, I also offer a powerful 90-Minute Clarity Session to start your preparation for the personal and emotional transition of leaving a career behind.

Let's connect over a discovery call to help you decide what will best meet your needs at this stage. Book a complementary Next Chapter Discovery Call with me here.

Confidentiality is of utmost importance in my coaching practice. As a professionally-certified coach, I adhere to the International Coach Federation's (ICF) Code of Ethics, which includes strict guidelines for maintaining client confidentiality.