Making Retirement an Encore worth celebrating

Too often, retirement, with its connotations of being put out to grass, is treated as a withdrawal from purpose rather than an evolution. Yet this traditional view is increasingly outdated. Both individuals and organisations are beginning to recognise that retirement is not an ending, but a significant transition that requires the same thought, care, and planning as any other stage of a professional career.

Retirement coaching provides the structure and support to navigate this transition with intention. Becoming a purposeful, energising, and strategic phase – an encore – where experience continues to create and provide value and meaning.

The Importance of Retirement Coaching

Retirement is a deeply personal and organisationally significant milestone. For individuals, it often brings questions that go far beyond the practicalities of pensions and planning. Many find themselves asking: Who am I without my professional identity? What gives me purpose now? How do I use what I’ve learned to shape what comes next? Without the right support or guidance, this stage can lead to uncertainty, a loss of confidence and in some cases an abrupt sense of disconnection.

For organisations, the departure of senior leaders can have cultural and operational implications. When transitions are handled poorly, businesses risk losing institutional knowledge, weakening succession plans, and unsettling teams. Yet when managed with foresight and integrity, these moments become opportunities to reinforce values, strengthen continuity, and celebrate the very culture those leaders helped develop.

Beyond the personal and organisational benefits, demographic change and the growth of the “longevity economy” mean that later-career transitions are now a strategic issue. Age-diverse teams drive innovation and strengthen client trust. How an organisation supports its team through change increasingly reflects its broader leadership values.

The Encore Coaching™ Approach

The Encore Coaching™ programme is a comprehensive, insight-driven, and integrative framework that helps individuals and organisations in navigating this pivotal transition. It supports leaders in examining their evolving identity and values, envisioning how they wish to contribute beyond their formal role, and constructing a purposeful transition that balances meaning, legacy, and continued influence. Whether that involves mentoring, consultancy, volunteering, or a new portfolio career.

For organisations, the Encore Coaching™ approach brings structure and provision to workforce planning. It supports succession management, facilitates the transfer of institutional knowledge, and ensures leaders exit with dignity while maintaining engagement with culture and legacy.

The Benefits

When thoughtfully designed and delivered, retirement coaching delivers lasting value at every level.

For individuals: renewed confidence, a clearer sense of identity, and a purposeful direction for what comes next.
For organisations: smoother succession planning, retention of goodwill and the reinforcement of leadership values.

Handled well, retirement is not a moment of loss but a moment of continuation. Leaders leave proud of their contribution, and organisations retain both the wisdom and goodwill that underpin sustainable success.

The Unique Features of Encore Coaching™

Encore Coaching™ distinguishes itself by treating retirement as a shared journey rather than a separation. It bridges the perspectives of individual and organisation, aligning personal aspiration with corporate strategy. The approach is structured yet tailored, combining consistent methodology with personalised insight. It focuses on legacy, knowledge transfer, and cultural reinforcement while addressing the emotional and identity aspects of transition.

A Purposeful Encore

Retirement coaching is fast becoming a hallmark of forward-thinking leadership. It acknowledges that experience has enduring value and that contribution does not end with position. Through Encore Coaching™, retirement becomes a phase of empowerment, connection, and influence. Building an encore that honours what has been built while shaping what comes next.

 

Written by: Graeme Menzies and Sarah Harrison, specialist Retirement Coaches.

Both Sarah and Graeme are professional executive coaches and passionate about helping people to retire well or to change direction in their career. Graeme recently retired after 30 years as a partner in a national law firm, specialising in dispute resolution.

Reflecting on his own experience, and echoed by colleagues in legal, accounting and other professional service firms, Graeme identified a particular need for support and engagement from firms both before and after retirement.

Sarah previously spent 20 years in employee engagement and business communications roles. The vital importance of coaching was reinforced to Sarah after she experienced redundancy in early 2019.

Encore Coaching™ is their own programme that they deliver on behalf of The Coaching Solution as Associate coaches.

If you are interested in Encore Coaching™ and working with Graeme or Sarah, please contact info@thecoachingsolution.co.uk or call on 07789 007591.