July 2008
Don't Get Blindsided by Retirement
To prepare for the baby boomer exodus, your job as a workplace learning and performance (WLP) professional has been to create successful succession plans that include finding methods that accelerate “time to competence for new leaders,” creating innovative ways to effectively transfer institutional knowledge, and filling the skills gap in a timely manner.
But what about your position? Do you have a current competency plan for your job? Have you thought about how you will phase out of your job when you decide to retire?
Those are all very important professional questions that you need to answer before you walk away from your 9-to-5 job. But the more significant questions you need to answer will be personal.
Whether you are five years or 10 years away from leaving the workplace, you should be thinking about how to prepare for that next life-changing encounter. To experience a successful and fulfilling retirement or a flourishing phase two of your career, you need to plan and prepare, covering all the bases of your life.
Just as most professional athletes need to find new purpose and meaning after they retire in their late 30s or early 40s, WLP professionals need to find that new identity in this new life phase.
Retirement is a time to do what you haven’t done yet. But are you ready to make that transition?
Are you ready to lose a “corporate identity?” Are you prepared to walk away from a fast-paced business environment? Have you thought about what you are going to do when you leave the workplace? Do you have the discipline to manage your time, work alone, or market yourself in a new career?
As you will read in this month’s feature articles on pages 32 and 36, retirement can be a time to reinvent yourself. But before you step away from your current job, you need to prepare emotionally, financially, and psychologically to begin life anew.
Ed Betof, former vice president of talent management and chief learning officer at BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) who left for the academic world as a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, admits, “Retirement is a lifestyle change.”
Don’t get blindsided when the time comes to finally walk away from the workplace. Start planning now, and then you’ll be ready to “just do it.”
Paula Ketter
Editor, T+D
pketter@astd.org
FEATURES
CAREER PLANNING
Are You Ready for Act II?
By Paula Ketter
The definition of retirement is outdated, and learning professionals nearing retirement age need to start thinking about what they want to do in the next phase.
FREE PDF
CAREER PLANNING
Reinvent Your Career, and Get Ready for the Next 30 Years
By Tamara J. Erickson
Longer life expectancies are creating a new life stage, and many boomers will have as much time for their second career as they did for their first.
PURCHASE ARTICLE
IMPROVING HUMAN PERFORMANCE
Leadership and the Small Group
By Peter Block
Leaders who know how to convene, question, and listen are better at affecting organizational change.
PURCHASE ARTICLE
DESIGNING LEARNING
The Year 2013: ARDDIE Is in, ADDIE Is Out
By Benjamin E. Ruark
A research phase could be the missing link for the design model of the future.
PURCHASE ARTICLE
MEASURING AND EVALUATING
Informal Learning: Overlooked or Overhyped?
By Andrew Paradise
Informal learning represents a unique and somewhat mysterious method in workplace learning and performance, and it’s time to address a few key questions.
FREE PDF
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
Deconstructing the Successful Global Leader
By Maureen Robotin
Many global executives do their due diligence before embarking on an international assignment—what are the factors that lie behind their effectiveness?
PURCHASE ARTICLE
DELIVERING TRAINING
How to Avoid Becoming a Workplace Violence Statistic
By Chuck Mannila
Each year, millions of employees are affected by workplace violence. Ensure a safer workplace by speaking up and staying alert.
PURCHASE ARTICLE