"Retirement is Terrific!" — Fact or Fiction?

More often than not, it’s fiction. A couple of years ago, I crossed paths with a gentleman who looked more and more haggard each time I saw him.

Formerly the president of an organization, he was forced into retirement several years earlier than he planned. Suddenly cast adrift, he was struggling with how to fill his free time productively. As I probed further, I found he was having difficulty sleeping, and his health was suffering.

He was flashing the neon signs of depression, and he wasn’t alone. According to a 2013 report released by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), following an initial boost in health, retirement increases the risk of clinical depression by 40 percent.

The Harvard School of Public Health also concludes that alcoholism, depression and obesity increase significantly post-retirement for business owners when they do not have a plan for what will bring them meaning.

What about women? This transition typically isn’t as hard for women. They generally take on many personal and professional roles during their lives, and as a result, don’t define themselves as business owners the way many successful men do.

The role of CEO is lonely in general, but as these leaders move toward retirement, it’s particularly hard for them to talk about the uncertainty around the coming changes.

After retirement, social and professional networks take a back seat and retired owners find themselves more isolated, and without other interests or relationships drawing them forward. For some, this could show up as depression masking as escapist behavior, such as spending a lot of time working out or on sports; or alcohol or substance abuse; irritability or inappropriate anger; even reckless driving. For others it can look like withdrawal from family and friends and other activities that used to be enjoyable.

Yet many resist seeking help, viewing both depression and its treatment as signs of weakness. Therapy can be a great help but many baby boomer owners are not willing to consider it, preferring to try to work through it on their own. This CEO decided to speak to a pastor at his church, someone he had great respect for and deeply trusted. Through that relationship, he felt heard and supported and was guided toward a volunteer opportunity that was very compelling to him. It gave him a goal for getting healthy, a purpose for his life, and a way to contribute to the church. He looks and feels 20 years younger.

If you think that you or someone you know may be depressed, learn more at the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Make Retirement Terrific by defining what will bring meaning and joy in your next phase of life. Contact us to learn more about our Executive Transition Process and create a Retirement that’s ‘Terrific’ for you!

Who Can Replace You?

How do you decide who to groom for your role? How do you find out if they are even interested?The truth is that you can be replaced. Yikes!

It happens all the time. Employees quit, they get sick, they have new priorities. But it’s easier to replace you if you invest in preparing a right fit candidate.

Who is right fit? It’s probably someone with a mix of skills and competencies that are important for the next phase of growth in your business. It’s also someone who can lead, manage and work well with others. Most CEO’s have a mix of responsibilities, including these three focus areas: Defining strategy and vision, developing your people, and representing the external face of the company – including key sales, strategic alliances, mergers, lobbying, etc…

While these responsibilities are key for most CEO’s, it’s your job to build a profile of what you need to lead your business into the next lifecycle and then seek out candidates who can be groomed to fill that role.

If you have more than one solid contender for the top position, develop them both for strong leadership roles. Eventually you will need to assess which will be the best fit for the strategic, cultural, and systemic priorities facing your company in the time frame you expect to exit. Ideally, there is room on the team for all of your strong performers, where they will make a meaningful contribution, be compensated well and be satisfied to play that role.

You must be sensitive to the needs of the runner(s) up. Open communications are critical. Not closing the loop and letting them know that you have moved on with your search or found a better fit can be devastating. Not only does it leave the individual frustrated, disappointed or disenfranchised, but it can have ripple effects throughout the organization.

Succession planning is hard work and it’s emotional. As owner, you must have the courage to have the tough conversations. Communicating decisions, sharing progress, setting expectations, holding your managers accountable – doing those things well can go a long way toward preparing your people for succession -- and set an example for your successors to follow.

Now that’s leadership development.

How can I trust them to run my business?

At some point, you are going to exit your business. It’s especially important to look at the expected skill and experience gaps that will be left when you are no longer active in the day to day business.

Someone will need to fill those gaps and execute with excellence to ensure the profitability and sustainability of your business. For most owners, that will be the key to funding their retirement. A comprehensive assessment of your leadership team will help you determine the skills and experience that already exists among your leaders and where there is potential for others to grow to fill those gaps. Some of your leaders may already be top performers, sitting in the right fit roles for them. Others may have potential to grow into C-suite roles.

Developing the high potentials and top performers is a powerful way to grow your business and fill those gaps. What are some simple, inexpensive ways to get started?

-Expand their responsibilities in ways that will grow them in the direction the company needs to go, then provide ongoing coaching and feedback on their progress.

-Send them to cross-train in other parts of the company. Seeing your business from multiple perspectives is very valuable. Encourage them to collaborate across functions to improve the business.

- Assign them a meaningful pilot project to work on that offers them broader learning and insight into the business, people, culture, industry.

- Encourage them to become active in leadership roles in the community, on targeted association or trade industry boards. This gives the company visibility and broadens their experience.

- Invite them to sit down with internal and external customers to better understand what is expected of them, and suggest they share their own expectations back.

These are simple examples of ways to grow your people and grow your organization. For more ideas, take a look at our Growth & Development Guide.

Building in experiences and learning opportunities like these will position your managers to expand and grow in meaningful ways and will deliver a direct return to your bottom line. And growth to your bottom line pays dividends now… and in the future. Let’s get started!