Navigating Change for Senior Women

Ever wake up and realize your late-stage career ambitions need a total reboot? The game changes at 50+. It's not just about the next role - it's about rewriting your entire story. After guiding 2000+ leaders over 20+ years in career moves, clarity, marketability and designing and launching their next chapters, here's the raw truth about Career 2.0: Crafting a next career chapter at this stage brings unique challenges, exciting possibilities, and maybe a mix of optimism and pressure tied to making later-stage career moves count. How do you know if you're approaching next-chapter territory? ↳ You committed to a career path early and now, decades in, are questioning if you can or even want to keep doing this for the next 10-15 years. ↳You feel employability pressures: ageism, younger (and cheaper) competition, and an evolving market. ↳You're chasing senior roles but want to enhance your marketability and career optionality. ↳You've hit, or are nearing, a financial milestone, and it's opening up new choices: step back, slow down, or prioritize meaning over money. ↳You're craving flexibility: time off, work-life balance, or a new rhythm while still staying engaged or earning. ↳You feel ready to focus on impact, contribution, or fulfillment in ways that fit your evolving priorities. Here's what you'll need to navigate: 1️⃣Money ↳Money is either opening doors or driving urgency. You might have the freedom to explore, or a shorter runway to hit retirement goals. 2️⃣Maturity ↳Your 25+ years of experience, reputation, and expertise could be your golden ticket. But ageism and competition can feel like steep hurdles if you haven't invested in your marketability. 3️⃣Mindset ↳Maybe you've tied your identity to your title, industry, or paycheque. Time to recalibrate: What's possible? What really matters? What are you ready to let go of to build something better? 4️⃣Models ↳If you've always worked in traditional full-time roles, your Career 2.0 might require embracing new ways of working - portfolio career, consulting, or other creative models. 5️⃣Marketing ↳Personal marketing is non-negotiable. Whether that's refreshing your LinkedIn presence, positioning yourself for consulting gigs, or creating a standout personal brand, marketing unlocks opportunity. Ready to Start Shaping Your Career 2.0? Here's Your Fast-Track Blueprint: 1️⃣Reflect on Your Goals and Priorities 2️⃣Assess Your Financial Situation 3️⃣Evaluate Your Professional Assets 4️⃣Explore New Work Models 5️⃣Update Your Personal Brand 6️⃣Expand Your Network 7️⃣Install Personal Marketing Habits 8️⃣Test the Waters 9️⃣Consider Working with an Executive Career Coach The takeaway? Use this opportunity to question assumptions, expand your horizons, and design a future that you're excited about. 🔥Ready to reinvent? DM "Reinvention" to explore your next chapter. ✅ Follow Ian Christie for more strategic career insights. 💭 True or false: Age is your greatest advantage in Career 2.0.

Laid Off or Launching in Midlife? It’s Not Just a Career Change—It’s an Identity Shakeup. As a coach, I work with people in their 40s+ who are navigating two different but equally disorienting roads: 1) They’re building something bold—and it’s not working (YET!). 2) They’ve been laid off. At first glance, these paths look nothing alike. But under the surface? SAME CLIFF -SAME ACHE -SAME QUESTIONS ->Who am I now? ->What matters? -> How do I stay relevant? In my POLARIS methodology for navigating major transitions, this is the "O" phase: Orient Yourself. It’s the moment after the rupture but before the rebuild. It's when you recognize that you are: Not where you wish you were. Not where your LinkedIn bio says you are. But where you actually are—financially, emotionally, energetically. And this is when well-meaning support often falls flat. Thank you Ginny Walker for kicking off this conversation in your post & inspiring mine:   🚫 DON’Ts (Even if You Mean Well) 1. “Let me know how I can help.” Too vague. They’re overwhelmed. You follow up, not them. 2. Ghosting after Month 6 or Year 1 Support matters most when the pain has lasted longer than a few months. 3. “You’ll land somewhere better!” Don't skip the grief. Let them arrive at hope in their own time. 4. “This is your chance to reinvent!” Not helpful unless you’re offering pro bono coaching or covering COBRA. 5. Sending job links without context. Ask what they want before forwarding a job board firehose. ✅ DOs (If You Want to Help) 1. Offer specific support. “Want help reframing your LinkedIn?” “Want an intro to my friend at X?” 2. Keep checking in. Real care is sustained care. 3. Connect them with people, not just roles. Intro them to others that can help or be a good connection, even if there's not yet a role or funding source available. If you’re in that orientation phase right now—between what just ended and what hasn’t yet begun—You're not lost. You're finding yourself again. And you don’t have to do it alone. #POLARIS #midcareer #layoffsupport #startupstruggles #identityshift #careertransition #coaching #leadership #orientationphase

Restructure. Redundancy. Redeployment. Words that can knock the wind out of you.... or bring a quiet sense of relief. Sometimes both at once. Right now, many women in my community are navigating restructures, redeployments, and redundancies. It’s unsettling. It’s exhausting. And sometimes, it’s long overdue. I recently heard from a client who’s been seconded across multiple teams for over a year - thriving, adapting, and waiting for the change she knew was coming. Her substantive role has now been made redundant, and instead of spiralling, she’s seeing it for what it is: an opening to something new. Here’s what I want to say to those of you in similar shoes: This moment doesn’t define you - but how you respond to it just might. If you’ve felt underused, misaligned, or like you’ve been quietly holding things together without recognition - maybe this shift is is the nudge you've needed! A chance to realign your work with who you are now. Not who you were when you took that job 3, 5, or 10 years ago. There is no shame in your role being made redundant. But there is power in choosing how you respond to it. If you're in the midst of this kind of transition, reach out. Let’s connect. You don’t have to figure it all out alone. ------- 👍 Like if you found this useful, 🔄 Share to inspire others, 🤝 Connect for more tips designed specifically to support mid-career women to have more leadership success. #Leadership #CareerTransition #WomenInLeadership #Resilience #Redundancy #CareerGrowth

You're a successful senior woman leader working long hours to meet demanding KPIs while trying to manage your life and family. You'd love to quit your job to work for yourself, but money is a problem. This is the challenge I spoke about to these ladies from PHOENIXUS. Like many of the clients I meet in the course of my work, some of these ladies want to exit their corporate jobs to start their own thing, but feel tied down by financials. The solution? Start it as a side hustle. Build your practice until it is able to sustain your lifestyle before quitting your day job. To do that, you'll need a few things. This is what I shared in my talk: 1. Know your end game What are you going to do? Will you be a coach, a consultant, or a public speaker? Is this your second career or a retirement job? (Yes, it matters) What you want to achieve will be a big determining factor in deciding how to achieve it. 2. Identify your unfair advantage Why would anyone want to engage you? What do you have that no one else does? Knowing your own strengths and overcoming your own limiting beliefs will be instrumental in your success. 3. Build your brand In an extremely crowded market, how do you stand out? If you're holding a full time job, you don't have the time to be chasing down clients every day so you need clients to come to you. What kind of brand are you building to ensure that happens? 4. Create a system for yourself You're a senior leader. It goes without saying that you're busy. You need a system to keep your side hustle running even when you're busy. Delegate or automate as much as you can so that you're only doing the most high value activities in the building of your practice. I love speaking to the ladies, and received many positive feedback that this is something they're looking for. If, like these ladies, you're looking for support to come out on your own from corporate, PM me. #womenleaders #entrepreneurship #sidehustle #careertransition #secondcareer