More on executive and retirement coaching

I wrote some time ago about executive and retirement coaching, making the point that while the first is commonplace within corporations, the second is still finding its way. In other words, companies have yet to see the value in providing retirement coaching to their soon-to-retire employees.

In making a case for retirement coaching I pointed out that, when implemented, it sends a signal to younger staff that the company values its employees at all phases and times. That is a key benefit as I see it. What obstacles stand in the way of its implementation?

It may come down to this: retirement coaching is still a cottage industry and therefore not at the same scale as a corporation of reasonable size. This is not the case with executive coaching which has developed over the years and is typically well-placed to meet the needs of its corporate customers.

But the important point to make is this: when you help someone in their 60s to search for their personal meaning, in my opinion, a certain congruence of coach and client is important. And it is from a cottage industry that you can hope to find that compatibility. That is a coach who is a good match in terms of experience and stage of life to the retiring client whom they help. Moreover, given that coaches often work in networks, that compatibility should not be difficult to locate.

Finally, just as the retired person’s search for meaning involves experimentation, so a corporation’s search for good retirement coaching outcomes will involve a degree of searching and experimenting. Let’s start.

Retirement: You won’t know what it is like until you get there.