Re-Inventing Yourself in Your Next Season

“Necessity is the mother of all invention,” Albert Einstein famously observed. But if he were addressing executives transitioning from their long corporate careers, I think he would say, “Necessity is the mother of all re-invention.”

Transitioning out of a long-held corporate role necessitates re-invention, as few of the routines that dominated your corporate career will continue into the next phase. You will welcome most of your transition—but it’s also easy to feel stressed: What will you do in this next phase? How will you spend your time? This is where re-invention is essential.

The best part of giving up your well-earned, well-worn corporate title is that the world around you opens up with unrestricted options. When experienced, talented professionals bring their capacity and wisdom to a world of possibilities, amazing things happen. Here are four short illustrations of that.

• Norm retired as corporate President of a high-growth Agriculture Company. He transitioned to leading a not-for-profit focused on food security in third-world countries. Now he meets farmers about donating land, talks with seed company reps to obtain fertilizer and seed wholesale, and cultivates donors who have a passion for food security. All his skills in marketing, sales, and business leadership – carefully honed throughout his career – are enabling his next season. And his re-invention has led him to discover his life’s greater purpose: creating sustainable solutions to feed hungry people.
• Liam, a retired Fortune 100 CEO, went on to teach in business and law schools. He mentored first-time CEOs of not-for-profits. He published articles highlighting his learnings while being a first-time CEO himself, and re-invented himself as a teacher, mentor, writer, and thought leader.
• Julie, a retired bank executive, joined the boards of two non-profits focused on girls/women’s issues. She gives talks across the country to middle school and high school girls on “empowerment.” For most of her career, she was the only female on the management team, and she hated that fact. So she was determined to inspire other young women to be all they could be, and not give up. She shared that all her years as the “only woman on the team” prepared her for this re-invention, which has brought out the best in her.
• Sam, a Fortune 10 Division President, retired with his wife to the city where their two sons live. He is now assistant coach of his grandson’s baseball team, with his new priority of spending maximum time with both of his sons’ families. He feels that he neglected his own family as he traveled constantly, leading international divisions for 18 of his 22 executive years. In retirement, he has re-invented himself by reprioritizing, putting family first.

These stories illustrate the power of re-invention in your next season. There is no right or wrong next season, no performance review that will evaluate how you are doing. It’s all about seeking your purpose, following your heart, finding where need meets your gifts, and re-inventing (and re-incenting) yourself accordingly.

The possibilities are endless! All it takes is letting go of your old definitions of who you are/what you do and trusting that your corporate career has prepared you well to re-invent the new you!