What happens once a CEO - or a business owner - leaves their post?

Is life just about the money and position?
It is far tougher than many realise.

A few evenings ago, we hosted a thought-provoking, almost moving event when a senior CEO spoke of how his life had changed after leaving his post. He had resigned for all the right reasons but nothing had prepared the ground for the mental challenge that he was to face including finding his role at home within the family unit.

It is often one of the most under rated issues – what is the main breadwinner’s role at home once they are no longer out at work? How does this impact on the relationship with their partner? I always recall one client that retired with great ideas of the life that he was going to spend with his wife only to find that she had no intention of changing her lifestyle and patterns and in truth, he was not wanted on a full time basis at home; so he returned to work, a new role within 6 months.

This issue is going ever greater. It is mildly strange in the General Election to hear discussion of a desire for a 4 day working week. Some argue it will be 3 days within the next 15 years. This is not all good as humans need the challenge, a real purpose in order to prosper and thrive. Without, mental illness, anxiety, low self-esteem and depression could well grow in numbers.

There was an article this week that noted that most employees today want home working options. It is the trend and understandable but research will also show that this has had its issues and is not a given

We so often think that senior people have no worries but often their mental challenges are that much greater as they do have an enhanced need, an enhanced sense of their own purpose which can be easily lost.

It is these reasons- and more – that we have launched “reinvention” – a process to help people find a new purpose, to reinvent themselves and their careers.
It is said that we all need to do this 3x in our careers and that this will raise. We will need to continuously learn and adapt – but most do not possess the skills. This is a real issue and needs real help. Supporting people mentally will become as important as training people physically and it is a challenge that will impact on productivity, society and our lives.