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When George Thorne walks into his medical practice in Austin Texas, he is greeted warmly by staff and makes friendly conversation about kids and pets. An ophthalmologist for thirty-plus years, he is quick to speak fondly of his patients, medical partners, and team. It’s clear he has loved his career. But at age 65, he recently decided to stop performing surgery and phase himself out of his practice altogether. “I’m not sure what’s on the other side of this,” he told me with a hint of anguish, “but it’s time.”
George is like many of the Baby Boomers I work with in my executive coaching practice. They’ve had high-powered careers that they’ve found fulfilling and are core to their identities. As they approach so-called retirement age, they are ready (or forced) to transition out of their longtime professions and are somewhat anxious about what’s next. Their concerns are less financial than identity- and change-related: How can I successfully reinvent myself as I leave behind my career? What does the next phase look like for me? How can I make sure I don’t get bored?
I once joked with my friend Aaron: “If you want to provoke a Baby Boomer, ask them about retirement.” Many Boomers are allergic to the R-word. The reasons are understandable. Retirement, for many, implies a binary off-switch towards mortality, golf, and bingo. It suggests a fixed destination when the 21st century reality is much more fluid and personalized.
So rather than framing this work as “planning for retirement,” I encourage people like George to think of it as “designing your next phase.” This isn’t just a cute turn of phrase. Positioning it this way, I find, creates a more empowered process. It shifts the tone by broadening the range of possibilities, by making it feel evolutionary rather than final, and by reinforcing that they are in the driver’s seat. It’s also more fun. This is a reinvention you get to design, not a retirement you have to plan.
Here are some tips that can help make “designing your next phase” a smoother and more fulfilling experience.
Name it. One of the first things I ask people in this situation is what they want to call it. What word should we use when we talk about it? Some stick with retirement. Others come up with thematic names like “encore career,” “play time,” or “giving back.”
