My Career Transition & Transformation Podcast
December 2025
In my recent conversation with host Briana Smith on the Midlife Academy Podcast, I shared the story behind my 36-year career as an executive career transition coach. I included the frameworks that have shaped my work with executives and professionals navigating change, especially after age 50.
Here is a link to the twenty nine-minute podcast. What follows is a brief summary of our conversation.
Three Chapters of a Career
My own career unfolded in three major chapters: early work in mental health and vocational rehabilitation; a pivot into marketing and sales after earning an MBA, and ultimately, a long-term career in executive career transition coaching.
Those early years were experimental and sometimes uncomfortable, including moments when I realized a particular path simply wasn’t right for me. At one point I quite literally “fired myself” and went through my own process of self-assessment, coaching, and reinvention. This experience continues to inform how I work with clients today.
The Core of My Coaching Framework
Three concepts sit at the core of my coaching practice: assessment, networking, and planned happenstance.
Through assessment tools such as John Holland’s Strong Interest Inventory I came to understand that I am fundamentally social, artistic, and enterprising. That insight helped me design work that truly fits who I am, coaching and teaching others, working independently and creatively, and partnering with business and nonprofit leaders I respect.
Networking has also been central to my career, not just as a source of opportunities, but as a way to gain trusted perspective. It helped me evaluate which paths to pursue and which to avoid. Planned happenstance reminds us that while intention matters, some of the best opportunities arrive unexpectedly. What matters most is having a framework to assess whether those opportunities truly fit.
Transitions vs. Transformations
During the podcast, I discuss the distinction between career transitions and career transformations. Transitions typically involve moving into a similar role while staying within the same, or similar, field or industry. Transformations, by contrast, are more radical shifts that change both the nature of the work and the industry itself.
To help people manage the fear and risk involved in these changes, I use the metaphor of “laying down mattresses” across the chasm between where we are and where we want to be. Before making a leap (or stepping across) we build a foundation of self-assessment, market research, networking, and skill and tool development.
Designing a Portfolio Life
A major focus of the podcast is my belief in a portfolio life, particularly in retirement or semi-retirement. Rather than viewing retirement as endless leisure, I encourage people to intentionally design a balanced portfolio across five elements: work, learning, giving, health, and leisure. This approach supports what I believe people truly need in later life: pleasure, engagement, and purpose.
Research shows that many retirees struggle when life becomes centered solely on leisure. Purpose often emerges through experimentation– trying things on a small scale, shifting connections, and discovering how the world still needs you.
My own experience with lifelong learning through the University of Minnesota’s OLLI program is a powerful example. What began as reluctance turned into one of the most meaningful and energizing parts of my portfolio life, combining learning, teaching, and community.
A Closing Thought
Ultimately, my message is simple. Midlife and retirement are not endings. They are opportunities to intentionally reinvent, rebalance, and continue contributing in ways that are meaningful, to ourselves and to the world.
For more career transition strategies, click this link to access ten of my articles. For more retirement reimagined strategies, click this link to access ten additional articles on my website.
