“Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings” — Jonathan Lockwood Huie
I’ll begin this newsletter with the headline:
I have decided to retire my executive coaching practice effective December 31st.
This also means that you are now reading the last issue of my Let’s LEAD newsletter.
If you had asked me a few years ago if I ever planned to retire, I would have quickly said ‘no!’
Then, in 2023, my husband decided to retire from his job of 36 years…something he has been talking about since I met him 30 years ago.
So, his decision wasn’t a surprise.
What DID surprise me was how it prompted me to start thinking about retirement for myself.
Much of my personal identity has been tied to my professional life, and I’m looking forward to figuring out who I am when I’m not working.
I’ll admit that I’m cheating a bit…I plan to continue doing some contract coaching work, so it’s not a complete shutdown. It’s more of a SLOWdown.
Regardless, it’s still a significant life-changing event.
Ah, change. Like death and taxes, you can’t avoid it. You may not like it, but it happens just the same.
I used to dig in my heels when an unexpected change occurred. I’ve learned that it’ll just leave me in the dust anyway, so why not just go with it?
How can I make it work FOR me?
So, with this significant change coming into my life, how am I managing it?
Every day brings a new feeling, from excitement, to anxiety, to sadness, to fear, then back to excitement. It’s a rollercoaster of emotion.
The good news is that as I get closer to ‘the date,’ my feelings of anticipation FAR outweigh my feelings of apprehension.
What can the next chapter hold? Some ideas include:
- Write a book. I love writing, and more than one trusted friend is pushing me in this direction.
- Start a podcast. Opinions? I have a few. As long as I’m not on video…I HATE video.
- Find a cause I believe in. Again, I have opinions.
- Write a blog. Ideas 1-3 should give me plenty to write about.
We’ll see where 2026 takes me…
So typically, at this point in the newsletter, I ask:
What does this have to do with leadership?
Not this time.
Instead, I’m going to share some parting words of wisdom from a lifetime of learning and growing as a leader and a human.
Here they are, in no particular order. I hope they are useful…take what you like and leave the rest.
- Keep the focus on YOU. This isn’t selfish; it’s imperative. Stop trying to change everyone else. You can’t.
- Be accountable. What is your part? Hold yourself accountable for the results you’re getting. Learn from it.
- Manage your emotions. This doesn’t mean suppressing or ignoring your emotions. It means acknowledging them, then consciously choosing how you respond.
- Another person’s behavior is about THEM, not you. Stop defending or taking responsibility for stuff that isn’t yours.
- Know yourself. The good, the bad and the ugly. When you acknowledge your own humanness, you’ll see the humanity in others.
- We can’t do anything truly important alone. Ask for help. Find a support community. Get a coach.
- More listening, less talking. Enough said.
- Be curious. We all want to be heard and understood. Learn to ask good questions. It can be as simple as saying ‘tell me more about that.’
- Know your priorities. When I shifted my focus from goal setting to priority-setting, it was easier to set goals! You’re not going to achieve your goals if they don’t align with what’s important to you.
- Live your life. What do you love? What’s missing? What needs to be released to make space for that thing you’ve been putting off?
Finally, consider using a reflection tool to get started. For the last several years, I have used the free annual booklet from YearCompass to reflect on the past year and create a vision for the next. Highly recommend…
Thanks to my dear friend Deb Elbaum for sharing this amazing resource with me.
And thanks to YOU…to all of you who have been on this ride with me. I am so grateful.
So…stay tuned!