Coaching a senior executive is always a challenge.Some issues a coach will deal with…
1) Solitude. “It is lonely at the top”.  Being a CEO is tough and many individuals in that position, contrary to popular belief, have a difficult time coping.

2) CEOs have a very limited life ourside of work. With 16 hour days, the feel tremendous strain to keep up relationships with their spouse, children and friendships. They are usually 24/7 slaves to their jobs.

3) A global economy means mobile CEOs.  Many spend much energy and time in planes, in new residences in different country. Sounds exotic but is it really?

An executive coach will help a CEO to learn to drive their own agendas instead of letting the business drive them. A coach will encourage an executive to build an active support network. He will help him work out a schedule so s/he can spend more time with a spouse and children. Finally, he will point out the importance of staying in top physical and mental shape.

It is said that more than 40% of the people in the workforce fear retirement.

The principal challlenge for individuals considering retirement is to look at the things they identify with. A person’s ego can be totally identified with a role or a position in society. People connect achievements with who they are. Indeed, the challenge of retirement is to find a sense of purpose beyond the job or social context of a career. When I once asked one of my colleagues if he had ever considered retiring, he looked at me and said: “But who would phone me if I retired?” Much of his identity was dependent on his colleagues and network at work.

The retirement process is especially difficult for individuals who have put all their eggs in the ‘career basket’. These people have not developed relationships outside of work and once they leave the nest, they find themselves isolated and lonely. Not having dedicated time to developing new interests and relationships, retirement is experienced as a stressful time. Combine this with the lose of status, attachment to a job title or a perceived important position in a hierarchy, an individual will have many new challenges to confront when considering retirement.

Finally, many people associate retirement with preparing to die! Their perception is that this stage of life means poor health and sickness which is far from reality.

The answer: create a vision, find a sense of inner purpose and make objectives and a plan for the next 3 years. Phasing into retirement is commonplace nowadays and offers a soft landing, a positive transitional period and time to refine the plan.  Consider retirement as just another type of lifestyle the same way individuals do when they get married and have children and find a new job. The best time to prepare for retirement is when you still have a job. Sit down with a life coach and begin making a plan!