A woman I worked with several years ago seemed to be on a great career track supported by a husband who cared about her achieving her potential. He worked a less demanding job than she did and took on a larger share of household and child-rearing. C is the e kind of woman that makes it to the top because the right combination of thrusting forces came to play in their life in a timely manner. Recently, she quit her C-level role at the firm she had helped grow from nothing to what it is today. She is self-employed now picking up gigs when she is able. The kids are in high school and getting ready for college in a few years. The husband is ready to go do his thing now that his parenting responsibilities are waning. He might not end up working on a pasta truck but its likely he won't go back doing more of what he had been doing this whole time.
Ten years ago, I would have never considered C to the be kind of woman who will just hop off her career track to do gig work. But here we are as the trends point out. My former client M went from being a CIO to a consultant for an unknown, small-time company. She is in her mid 40s and I never saw that one coming either. There must be something to be said for people becoming acutely aware of their own mortality, having the opportunity to pause in their homes around their loved ones and think long and hard about what really matters. For C and M they had achieved the pinnacle in a sense. More time and work would mean a similar role in a larger company, becoming more visible in their business, board memberships, speaking engagements and such. Maybe they are done with all that and want to spend the last few years close to their soon to be adult kids who will leave for college.
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