Who Am I Now? Rediscovering Your Values for the Next Chapter of Life

For many in professional services, the approach of retirement brings with it an unexpected and often uncomfortable question: Who am I now?

After a lengthy professional career, identity is often closely intertwined with role, title, and contribution. Work provides structure, recognition, and a clear sense of direction. When that framework begins to shift, it is natural for individuals to reassess how they define themselves. This is not a problem to be solved, but rather a transition to be understood.

Here at Futurum Group, we view this stage as a critical reflection point, one that benefits from careful rediscovery, clarity of thought, and deliberate planning.

The Next Chapter of Life

Throughout working life, professional identity tends to be externally defined. Individuals are known as a partner, a director, a leader, or a specialist. Yet these roles, while important, represent only one dimension of a person’s identity. Beneath them sit more enduring drivers including personal values, motivations, and a deeper sense of purpose.

As retirement approaches, the central question begins to shift. It moves away from what is my role? towards a more fundamental consideration: what matters most to me now? This distinction is significant and it forms the starting point of Encore Coaching™, where the focus moves from role-based identity towards a more values-led direction.

Why Values Become Central

Earlier career stages are typically shaped by structure, progression, and external expectations. In contrast, later life introduces greater autonomy, along with a wider and often more complex set of choices. Without a clear framework, that freedom can feel uncertain rather than empowering.

A well-developed understanding of personal values provides a foundation for this stage. It enables individuals to make more informed decisions about how they spend their time and energy, to evaluate opportunities with greater confidence, and to ensure that future activities remain aligned with their priorities.

The Nature of the Transition

Those approaching retirement often raise similar and very practical considerations:

What replaces the sense of progression and achievement that work has provided?
How can years of experience continue to be applied in a meaningful way?
What does contribution look like without a formal position or title?
Who am I in retirement?

These are not abstract questions. They are central to how the next phase of life is experienced and shaped. Taking the time to address them early allows for a more considered and confident transition.

Reflection to Direction

From reflection and direction, individuals are then better placed to identify opportunities that genuinely align. These may include mentoring, taking on governance or advisory roles, engaging in voluntary or community-based work, or exploring entirely new areas of interest, learning, or enterprise.

While the specific path will differ for each individual, the underlying principle remains consistent: alignment between activity and values.

The Encore Perspective

At Futurum Group, we are pivoting this phase from an ending, to an Encore. It represents a transition into a different form of contribution, one that is less defined by external expectations and more by individual choice and direction.

Through a structured approach that combines reflection, planning, and practical support, Encore Coaching™ enables individuals to navigate this transition with clarity and purpose.

This stage of life does not require reinvention. It requires re-alignment.

The experience, judgement, and perspective developed over the course of a career remain highly relevant. The task becomes to apply them in a way that reflects current values and priorities.

The question is not simply “What comes next?”

It is: “What matters most, and how should that shape the next chapter?”

If you would like support in exploring these questions and planning your encore, we would be pleased to hear from you.

You can contact us directly at:
graeme@futurumgroup.co.uk
sarah@futurumgroup.co.uk