Making the Most of Your “Final Five”
My friend Susan Picascia and I wrote an article that appeared in the June issue of Hemisphere’s magazine entitled “Creating a Workplace Legacy.” Our premise is that wherever you land about five years before you plan to retire is most likely where you’re going to remain. Companies often marginalize employees in what we call the “final five” (particularly women!) but you can revitalize your career by thinking about the legacy you want to leave behind. If you’re interested in seeing the entire article, e-mail me at info@drloisfrankel.com, but here are few tips for how you can remain productive and fulfilled during the last few years of employment:
- Take more risks. At this stage of your career you have little to lose. You’ve proven yourself, you have experience, and you can make a difference. Be the voice of dissent when it’s clear the company is headed in a potentially disasterous direction or say the things everyone else is thinking but are afraid to say.
- Create new systems or processes. You’ve been so busy doing your entire career you may have never taken the time to step back and see how things could be done more efficiently or cost effectively. Now’s your chance to leave a lasting legacy based on your unique expertise and experience.
- Influence the vision, values, and goals of your company. Seize opportunities to illuminate how the company can be a better member of the community, treat its staff better, or raise the bar for how business in your industry is done. Comments like “I like this new idea. Let’s think about how it will impact our community” or “If we really want to retain talent let’s look at the developmental opportunities we provide to all employees, not just ones we hand pick” can go a long way toward leaving a legacy of which you can be proud.
TAGS: making a difference, retirement, Women and Aging, workplace legacy
