Refusing to Retire?
When Is It Time To Step Away?
Oh, give me the beat boys and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away
Oh, give me the beat boys and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away-Drift Away, Dobie Gray
Websters defines retirement as:
Re·tire·ment
/rəˈtī(ə)rm(ə)nt/
noun
1. the action or fact of leaving one's job and ceasing to work: "a man nearing retirement."
"Ceasing to work". What does that mean? A full-time job for pay? Benefits? A gold watch? I think the concept is very different today from when I was growing up. Have you retired? What does that mean for you? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I have been publishing this Substack weekly for seven months now. Friends, family members, and subscribers often give me ideas or suggestions for future topics. I was hiking with my friend Lily a couple of weeks ago, and we started talking about people who wait too long to retire. Lily said, "You should make this a topic for your blog." So, here we are.
To be clear, we do not mean individuals who, for financial reasons, must continue to work. Or "retirees" who take on part-time jobs at restaurants, shops, office buildings, etc.. They may do so for some pocket change, to help cover Social Security or pension shortfalls, or just for companionship...having something to do. And, since I see help-wanted signs everywhere, these additions to the workforce are much appreciated. Our focus was on people in leadership roles who choose to continue working at or post-retirement age. This could be in business, politics, or even serving on non-profit boards. Lily reminded me to include tenured professors on the list. We wondered if staying in these roles too long was keeping younger generations from gaining the experience needed to succeed in higher-level positions.
Growing up, it seemed like everyone I knew retired at age 65. Now, people sometimes cling to executive positions until they die. And at what cost?
The blog Thinkers 50 has an article called "When is it time to go-the pros and cons of long executive and CEO tenure?" One of their "cons" states:
“Long tenure may freeze the career path. Long tenure of leaders may also have unexpected negative consequences on the talent pool in an organization. When leadership tenure is too long and the leadership team seems to have grown roots in the board room, others in the organization may get the signal that career progression is not possible since the leadership spots are all taken. For instance, when JPMorgan recently granted Jamie Dimon a new deal to stay in his current position, the board essentially signaled that none of the existing leaders were viewed as capable to lead the company.”
And Forbes wrote:
"One of the biggest challenges facing CEOs today is the quality of their next generation of leadership. DDI found that only one in three CEOs (34%) say their front-line leadership quality is "very good" or "excellent." Only 38% of CEOs rate their mid-level leadership as being of high quality."
The last two quotes focused on CEOs and the business world, but the same could be said for our political leaders, non-profit executives, and tenured professors. So, the question is, Why do people stay in these roles post-retirement age?
The financial benefits are an obvious factor. Executives usually earn high salaries with impressive benefits. But I think the loss of their power is equally important. What are you, if not an executive? is a typical mindset in the United States.
Can we feel fulfilled without the title...without the position? I read that Hoda Kotb, the longtime morning anchor of NBC's "Today" show, announced her retirement earlier this week. I think her position qualifies as a senior or leadership role. She said her decision came as she celebrated her 60th birthday.
"I just thought the universe was speaking to me," she said in an interview with The New York Times before she broke the news on-air to "Today" viewers. "This is a time in life for looking inside you, and figuring out what your yearnings are, your callings — where or what direction you're headed during this new decade."
She told The Times, "It felt like the time to turn the page on what has been a dream book, a dream quarter-century."
So, if your identity is tied to your job, your position, taking the time to figure out what's next can be difficult.
Another change now versus when we were growing up is the "youthfulness" of seniors. Many of us feel healthy and have the energy required to succeed in leadership positions. But are we the best and most qualified generation for these roles? I realize I am speaking in generalities here, so my question is, Do the post-middle agers out there truly understand the zeitgeist of the times?
Zeitgeist
the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time: "the story captured the zeitgeist of the late 1960s."
I don't have the answer to these questions. I am hoping to spur a conversation on this topic with this post: When is it time to step away? How can we, the post-middle agers, stay involved, fulfilled, contribute, and share our experiences with younger generations while ensuring they are hired into leadership roles....so they do not feel frustrated and dishearted by "the pesky seniors who refuse to go!!"
For me, the answer is mentorship and consulting positions. I left corporate life when I was in my late 40s as a Senior Vice President because I was tired of eighty-hour work weeks and constant travel. I served as a consultant to various businesses and non-profits for many years. I started my company seven years ago as a "Virtual CFO." (Chief Financial Officer). My clients have businesses that aren't quite big enough to hire in-house C-Suite positions but need help leading the company. They understand their product...whether they sell goods or services...but don't have the experience or knowledge on how to run the business, especially from the financial side. I help with accounting, budget creation and review, as well as forecasting, financial review, and the development of strategic business plans. When my clients’ businesses succeed and grow, and they can hire in-house positions, I celebrate their success. I am not trying to "keep" the clients forever...my goal is to make myself redundant. This model of work allows me to stay involved, fulfilled, contribute, and share my experiences with younger generations while ensuring they are hired into leadership roles.
In conclusion, if we, the older generations, can figure out how to advise and mentor younger generations while getting out of their way so that they can experience career progression, we would have the best of both worlds. What do you think? And this is not an ageist position. I am in my sixties, so I feel confident I can speak about this subject. But I am so curious about what you all think. Should we stay in leadership and senior positions until we die? Should we retire and get out of the way? Consult? Where are you on the retirement path? Please join in the conversation by commenting below. Thank you!
See you next week.
Diane
Thank you for visiting Leaving Middle Age! If you like what you read, please share this newsletter with your friends, family, and acquaintances. And if YOU still need to subscribe, please do so. It is free and a way for us to navigate post-middle age together.
I have come to believe we reach a point in life when it is time to retryer. Reinvent ourselves so we have to take apart our lives as we had come to know them and put our lives back together good as new. It is a necessary reinvigoration if we want to feel fully alive and meaningful once again.