Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen announces retirement, and you can learn a few things from how she did

Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen announces retirement, and you can learn a few things from how she didCongresswoman Ros-Lehtinen announces retirement, and you can learn a few things from how she didOn Sunday, Florida Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the first Latina to ever serve in Congress, carefully announced her retirement.Maybe too carefully. In her explanation to The Miami Herald, she kept it vague, calling ita personal decision based on personal considerations.Ros-Lehtinen, 64, had spent alfruchtwein three decades in Congress. Thinking of her years of work in terms of seasons, she quoted Ecclesiastes from the Bible and said that we must recall that to everything there is a season, and time to every purpose under the heaven. The most difficult challenge is not to simply keep winning elections but rather the mora difficult challenge is to not let the ability to win define my seasons.Translation I could win again if I had to, but Im moving on to the summer season of my lif e where I can relax withno taxpayers input.Ros-Lehtinen had to make her announcement early, for political reasons. But her vagueness about the specific reason she decided to step out of office will fuel speculation - and that shows why retirement announcements can be fraught.The classic retirement announcement spending more time with your familyLeaders in other fields can be more candid about their retirement decisions.For instance, Patrick Pichette, the former CFO of Google, was more forthcoming with his public announcement in 2015. He deviated from the bland spend time with my family script. In what Alphabet CEO Larry Page called themost unconventional leaving notice from a most unconventional CFO, Pichettewas honest about wanting a better work-life balance so he could spend more time with his wife.Calling himself a member of the noble Fraternity of Worldwide Insecure Over-achievers, he said his seven-year tenure at Google was a whirlwind of truly amazing experiences. But as I c ount it now, it has also been a frenetic pace for about 1500 weeks now. Always on even when I was not supposed to be.life is wonderful, but nonetheless a series of trade offs, especially between business/professional endeavoursand family/community. And thankfully, I feel Im at a point in my life where I no longer have to have to make such tough choices anymore.By giving up a reported $5.2 million salary at age 52, Pichettes candidness sparked a conversation about work-life balance, and also served as an example as to why theproper age to retire is no longer the government-designated 65.Expect speculation when successful people retireOnce youve made your own decision to retire, you cant just relax and start daydreaming about your beach cabana.You have to plan how youre going to tell your co-workers, bosses, and the public about it.Timing matters.CNBC said that if you signal your departure too soon, its possible the firm will find your replacement and push you out before you are read y. You may also be passed over for interesting projects or even pay raises.The higher your position, the more yourannouncement will be scrutinized. Did she really want to spend more time with her family? Was he really so thrilledto be replaced by some outsider who was two decades younger? Whatever details you choose to sharewill invite speculation.Be specific about why this is the right timeAs a rule if you retire without a specific reason, everyone will assume you were pushed out or start speculating on the real reason youre stepping down. Imaginations will go wild.If you want to forestall the gossip and speculation, plan ahead.Unless you feel like your job would be in immediate jeopardy for revealing your intentions, you should give your employer formal notice. This will help you leave on good terms, and youre going to want that if you ever change your mind and want to return to the workforce.Announce any plans for a new ventureOr maybe youre retiring from one field to work in ano ther. Be clear about that too, to make the connections youll need.As Karen Dillon advised the Harvard Business Review, You cant just stop working and expect the phone to ring. Plant seeds early so that once youre in circulation, experiences and opportunities will come to you.If you want to stay relevant years down the line, youre going to need to do legwork now print out personal contact lists, send your close colleagues personal goodbye notes, tell your staff in person about your decision, gather recommendations from your superiors.Get your finances in orderOn the business side, make koranvers to review your finances and your human resources compensation packages to make sure retirement is an economic possibility. If youre advanced in your career, check on pensions if you have a contract, make sure youre clear on what your payout would be for retirement, if any.Mention health if its the main reason youre stepping backThe trickiest announcements for retirement or stepping down are a round health reasons, which can be private and sometimes agonizing.If youre stepping back to focus on health or pregnancy, the company and your coworkers should know, if youre senior enough. Thats because a change in leadership can be highly destabilizing for teams if theres no warning or no clear, understandable reason.Leaders usually mention health reasons because it may have an impact on their companies. JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon announced he would be treated for throat cancer, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein did the same when he needed time off for treatment. When Yahoo CEO Marisa Mayer got pregnant with twins, she announced that as well, because it was important for people to know what would happen to the company.Another benefit to being clear about health reasons while it can be difficult to talk about personal things, the outpouring of good wishes and support from colleagues can often be highly encouraging.Life, of course, doesnt end with retirement. Figuring out how to leverage your years of expertise to explore new passions should be the fun conundrum youll now face.