Your Career Transition – Process, Phases and Purpose

Stability and Change – 2021

 North Shore, Kauai

 Your Transition Is a Stimulus for Personal Development and Fulfillment

Change and transition are words that are often used interchangeably. However, these two words have different meanings and what they describe have distinctly different purposes.

Lessons Learned on My Life’s Journey

My personal experience with change and transition illustrates this point. Years ago, I was diagnosed with colon cancer and then developed other medical problems. Together they created a change that ended my Plastic Surgery career and triggered my End of Career Transition. Thankfully, years later I am cured, renewed and fulfilled in my new career. 

My transition was not an event that occurred spontaneously. It was the result of sustained, focused and deliberate effort over a period of time.  That effort was directed at a particular envisioned outcome: to experience renewal and fulfillment. The means for achieving that outcome was the process of the End of Career Transition itself.

This illustrates the very purpose of a transition: to effectively manage a major life event and create a new life experience based on your ongoing personal development that is integral to transition. 

Types of Transition and Preparation

Your career may come to an end, perhaps as part of a plan you have created. If so, it may be referred to as a developmental transition. The important consideration here is that you are the source of the planned change for whatever personal and/or professional reasons.

In contrast, a sudden and perhaps unexpected change brings about a reactive transition. 

With either type, you will find yourself immersed in the process of transition. 

The planning necessary to create a developmental transition takes considerable time to create and for you to adjust to the process of transition. 

I am often asked: “What if I am faced with a sudden, reactive transition?”

I know that the best way to prepare for the unknown is to prepare for that which is known. That is, to plan and prepare for a developmental transition based on the facts at hand. If the unexpected occurs, your can react and modify your plans as needed.

When Does a Developmental Transition Begin?

This type of transition process starts when you begin to envision your end of career, often years in advance. A fairly reliable clue that it has begun, is when you find yourself thinking about it more than usual. You may recognize that there are myriad of concerns that will likely preoccupy you. They can become more acute as you recognize how unfamiliar they are.

So, what to do?

The best initial approach is to learn, begin to plan and prepare. Be proactive.

Hope it's not a plan, it simply does not work.

In addition to personal concerns, there are many questions related to business matters, which are distinct but related.  Here, I focus on common personal issues for you to consider.

The Transition Phases That We Experience

In the course of my consulting and coaching, I see a broad spectrum of reactions to the anticipation of the end of career. The experiences range from sheer joy to worry and stress. 

The common experience is that it is a major life event for which thoughtful, deliberate planning is essential in order to create a positive experience. 

The personal evolution that most people experience consists of three phases that are common to both types of transition: 

The first is your acceptance of the change that has taken place…your loss, what has ended.

The second is a period of personal reflection and reorientation…a time and opportunity for creativity.

The third is your acceptance of your new beginning…your sense of loss will diminish as   you enjoy your new life.

These phases vary in duration from person to person. At each step of the transition experience you will benefit, provided that you do evolve through these various phases successfully. Sometimes, however, your progress may be delayed or even halted.

For example, the progression from the first to the second phase may be delayed by feelings of denial, the inability to accept what has ended. It may be accompanied by profound, unresolved grief.

As  you face these challenges, I encourage you to face your true north and believe in yourself, the process and its purpose.

Your Transition and Its Purposes

• To develop an objective understanding of your circumstances. 
• To accept your loss and experience a healthy form of the resulting grief.
• To experience personal and spiritual development.
• To reaffirm your sense of character.
• To dream and be creative.
• To rejoice in your renewal and fulfillment.

Plan Your Course and Harness Your Navigation Skills

It will be essential for you to summon confidence in yourself, to reaffirm that you are still you. I encourage you to strive to strengthen your confidence that the same personal qualities of character and skills that brought you to this point in life, will propel you further. 

Consider that most of us that experience a transition will have substantial personal and professional hard-earned skills to draw upon. In addition to what we have learned and the experience we have developed over the years, there is yet another profoundly valuable asset that I encourage you to recognize, value and apply liberally to your new experience. That asset is your unique wisdom.

Your Vision, Your Reality

So it is, that at this point in your life, you are ever more capable of overcoming the challenges associated with your End of Career Transition. One skill, among others, stands out: your ability to develop a realistic vision for yourself, your family and to summon the courage necessary to create your reality based on that vision.

I encourage you to:

Plan. Prepare. Prosper. _TM

PS: Would you like to learn more about how to prepare yourself and your practice for the end of career transition? You may be in solo practice and wish to carry out a succession or outright sale; perhaps you are in group practice or are otherwise employed. I provide consulting/coaching services that are tailored to your specific needs. Click here to request a complimentary introductory conversation.

Gulf of Mexico – 2009

Florida