Life After the Executive Career - What Next
Curated by Carly Vivian
## Life After the Executive Career: What Next
Leaving a senior leadership role is one of the most significant transitions an executive can face, yet it remains one of the least discussed. This collection brings together perspectives from practitioners and researchers who address the reality of post-executive life head-on. Will Larson provides an honest walk-through of what actually happens after departing a senior leadership position, while Heidrick & Struggles research examines the deep identity challenge that CEOs specifically encounter when stepping down from the top job. Together, these perspectives reveal that the transition is far more complex than simply finding the next role.
A recurring theme across these resources is the emotional and psychological disorientation that accompanies the departure. Carly's reinvention work highlights the feelings that no one warns executives about when they leave a career that has defined them for years. She names the "what next" moment as a distinct and disorienting phase that most leaders are entirely unprepared for, despite their track records of strategic planning and decision-making in every other domain. This gap between professional competence and personal readiness is a central tension in the post-executive experience.
Perhaps most notably, the collection challenges the assumption that an executive's network can predict or guide their next chapter. Carly points out that the reinvention path rarely matches what contacts and colleagues assume a departing leader will pursue. This insight underscores the importance of approaching the transition with intention rather than defaulting to external expectations. Taken together, these resources offer executives a more honest, grounded framework for navigating life after the C-suite, one that acknowledges the identity work, emotional processing, and deliberate exploration the journey truly requires.
