Your true self

Nov 19, 2019

There is a tool called Unique Ability which is used to improve the productivity of individuals and work teams.  It can be just as powerful a tool to increase your enjoyment and fulfillment by expressing your true self in retirement.

What it is

Dan Sullivan, the founder of the business coaching program Strategic Coach, developed the concept of Unique Ability.  As defined in the book Unique Ability, 2003, by his colleagues Nomura and Waller:

“Unique Ability is the essence of what you love to do and do best.  There are four characteristics of Unique Ability:  It’s a superior ability that other people notice and value; your are passionate about using it and want to use it as much as possible; it’s energizing both for you and others around you; and there’s a sense of never-ending improvement – you keep getting better and better and never run out of possibilities for growth.”

Everyone has a Unique Ability.  When you use it, time flies by because you are absorbed in having fun.

A description of Unique Ability has a particular structure.  It contains a talent you have (what you do) and a passion (why you do it.)  Here are two examples of Unique Ability statements from real people that are mentioned in the book above:

• My Unique Ability is empathizing with people’s individual experiences and taking action so they feel cared for.
• My Unique Ability is perceiving the essence of a situation and providing practical strategies to align people’s thinking with what’s real.

Here’s the problem.  Most people use their Unique Abilities only a small fraction of their time in both personal and work activities.  This is a huge lost opportunity.  The idea here is to use it more in order to spend your time on the right activities and make more of a contribution.

There are two major challenges in using your Unique Ability more than you do now:  figuring out what it is for you and applying it.

Figuring it out

You may not know what your Unique Ability is, and you most probably cannot articulate it well.  After all, using your Unique Ability is easy for you to do, and you take it for granted.  But even if you do not know, people you interact with know what it is because they have seen it in action.  So, you need to ask them.

It is helpful getting input from as wide a mix as possible from people who know you well.  You can ask friends, relatives, members of your faith community, colleagues from present or past work, customers and others.  Then figure out what their comments have in common.

Applying it

The impact of your Unique Ability will depend on how much you use it.  Since your time is fixed at 24 hours each day, using your Unique Ability more will require doing fewer other activities.  A systematic approach to decreasing time on other less productive activities involves listing those other activities and your competence in doing them.  The activities that you are less competent in doing are excellent candidates for removing from your schedule.  This may take some creativity in execution and the support of other people.

Let other people know what you are best at and how you can bring value to them.  When you are considering a variety of opportunities, both personal activities and paid and unpaid work, think about which opportunity will give you the best chance of using your Unique Ability.  In other words, use your Unique Ability as a filter in your choice of activities.

Retirement

Retirement can be a long period of time, almost as long as your working years. How you spend your time in retirement will be different from what it was before.  But you are still the same person with the same Unique Ability.

During retirement you may want to contribute to the world around you through paid or unpaid (volunteer) work.  If so, your Unique Ability will let you apply your best talents in the institutions that you most value and appreciate.

You will probably spend some of your retirement time in leisure activities and in interactions with friends and family.  In those areas too you will make more of a contribution if you use your Unique Ability.

A larger contribution in these areas will provide you with personal benefits of more confidence, happiness, success, and freedom.  Using your time wisely will add quality and meaning to your retirement years.

As you prepare for retirement or are wondering how to make your retirement years more meaningful, consider figuring out your Unique Ability.  Now is the time to do it as you prepare for and enter retirement.  As your contribution gets larger, you will be more excited in the morning, eager to do what is important for you.

Who am I?

Oct 23, 2019

“For some people, retiring means a loss of status and self-definition.  They may even feel as though they no longer have an identity.”  Serious About Retiring, Temuna Press, 2019, p. 40

If you are not yet retired and still working, is your work what you do or who you are?  If it is the latter, what does it mean to give up your work?  It could feel like losing your identity.  Some have described retirement as leaping off a cliff or jumping into a void.

There are many aspects of your work, including its income, the work itself, and your interpersonal interactions.  Losing any of these features can be good or bad, depending on how the job has met your needs and wants and how desirable the alternatives are.  When your work defines who you are, retiring can be a blow to your sense of self.

Consider, for example the identity issues for a physician whose job includes curing the sick and saving lives.  The physician is respected and admired by patients and the community at large.  Being a doctor is one of the most prestigious jobs.  The job position might have been with his / her own medical practice, or he / she could have affiliated with a hospital or other care provider.  That affiliation can be an important part of his / her identity as well.

Retiring can mean the loss of many things including being a member of a profession and the connection to their organization.  Retiring will mean the loss of their professional network which provided education and support.  The fully retired physician no longer gets to use their difficult-to-attain training and experience.  And also their talents and skills.  These are all part of the physician’s identity.  Many retired doctors want to be addressed as Doctor long after they have stopped practicing medicine.  This is an indication of the importance of this identity for them and their desire to continue it.

Some doctors retire because they can no longer do the work.  Others might leave because of the attraction of new activities.  Or they may have had enough, sometimes of the non-medical aspects of their jobs such as using computers or filling out paperwork or dealing with bureaucratic rules.  Retiring for them can be like taking off a heavy backpack.  Leaving work could give them the freedom and lightness to proceed possibly in a different direction.

Identity issues are not just for physicians or other professionals.  Business owners for example frequently identify strongly with their business.  It can be challenging for a business owner to sell the business or watch it fail.  They can have painful adjustment issues to contend with.

So what are the alternatives for dealing with the loss of identity from leaving a job and career?

1. Move on. This means finding a new identity with compelling activities to do.  The activities might be oriented around developing your roles, e.g. parent, grandparent, member of a community.  Or it could be based on a hobby or other interest.  Or it could be “I have always wanted to _______”  and then doing it.  Moving on is a solution to the loss of identity that is simple to describe.  Such a transition might be smooth for some, but it could be far from easy for others.  It is the answer to the question of “What are you up to these days?”  You will know that you have made a successful transition from your past identity when you mention doing something else and your eyes light up with enthusiasm when describing it.
2. Many people continue working during retirement.  Your work could be doing something very similar but with less stress.  It could mean fewer hours worked – per day or week or season or year.  It could also mean work with similar responsibilities but for a different organization or in a different industry.  If you do not need the income from a new job, your new activities could be doing something similar but volunteering your services for a nonprofit, friend or neighbor.
3. Continue old connections. There is an intermediate approach between no overlap and substantial overlap between the old and new.  You can move on to something different from your previous work but still continue some aspects of it. For example, you can continue to be a member of your previous professional organization, attend its meetings or serve on its committees.  You can volunteer with and through the professional organization.  You can subscribe to and read its professional journals.  Through a mix of activities, you may still feel connected.

It is important to be aware of the role of work in your life and your sense of self.  Plan for what to do about that when you retire.  After you retire, if someone asks you, “What do you?” what will you say?