TransitionGuides

One Month, Three Questions, Five Thousand Miles
Executive uses sabbatical to think creatively about transition.     

How does a founding or long-term executive learn to let go? A few years ago, Strathmore CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl participated in a TransitionGuidesNext Steps workshop, which, he noted, "stimulated the idea that one can and should intentionally plan for life stage changes, both personally and professionally." In this and the next edition of the Leadership Guide, we explore this executive's creative response to the question.

Eliot Pfanstiehl

When you have led an organization so long that you seem joined at the hip, separation seems an unimaginable challenge. 

This was the challenge Eliot Pfanstiehl faced as he entered his late 50s. For more than 25 years, he has been president and CEO of Strathmore, one of the nation's premiere performance venues, a host to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic, and some 160 concerts annually. (Learn more at  Strathmore) During Pfanstiehl's tenure, Strathmore has grown to more than an $8 million annual budget. Its 45 full-time and 100-plus part-time staff serve more than a quarter million people annually. A major achievement in the past decade was funding and building a 2,000-seat concert space with extraordinary acoustics.

He's not ready to leave Strathmore -- yet -- but he believes in preparation. So, Pfanstiehl planned a three-month sabbatical that would help him learn and grow. "In the face of the fear of loss," he said, "I would rather choose a path of creativity and reinvention."

The first month of his sabbatical involved a 5,000 mile driving trip, during which he was determined to answer the question "Who am I without Strathmore?" Pfanstiehl had a simple outline for his trip: He would drive off the beaten path to a small town -- preferably, as he puts it, "some place with a gazebo and a cannon." Then he'd go to the local diner and ask three questions:

1. If you only had one day in town, what should you be sure to do?

2. Where can I find LIVE music tonight?

3. What is the secret to happiness in one's golden years (60+)?

Pfanstiehl printed business cards that included the questions and his self-appointed position of "Chief Visionary and Wanderer." Question one, he noted, was a conversation starter. Question two fed his interests as an arts administrator. (He noted, sadly, that in general he found a lack of live music in small towns.) Question three was, of course, the heart of his search.

He found eager talkers in every town. He took notes during the day on small cards, saw the sights, and retired to a new hotel room each evening. There, he fanned the cards about him and organized his thoughts. The resulting blog posts can be read at A Fork in the Road Blogspot. They make for a fascinating read.

Pfanstiehl uncovered two basic approaches to "happiness in one's golden years." One group of people had deferred their dreams and gratification until retirement, at which point they aimed to discover themselves. These people experienced a variety of outcomes. "In many cases, they made the transition to retirement and did it well. But there were a fair number who got to that moment, stepped across the line, and disease or economic loss wiped out their plans." For example, one couple had planned to sail around the world. Upon retirement, they bought a boat, and then the husband passed away suddenly before they could leave.

A second group of people, says, Pfanstiehl, "almost didn't feel the speed bump when they went from work to retirement." These people appeared to be mission-driven. They found great meaning in being productive. They continued in some form of work after retiring -- perhaps consulting or volunteering. For example, one waitress was preparing to purchase a bed and breakfast upon retirement; she would be continuing on in the hospitality industry, but as her own boss. Another couple had retired -- he from a union post and she from teaching -- and then happily taken up new positions as the town groundskeeper and volunteer librarian.

Pfanstiehl drew lessons from these groups. The sad stories among those who deferred their dreams "told me that every day matters." Another significant lesson was the importance of preparation. "Don't leap out the window of work onto a surface you haven't carefully prepared for. Be thinking now about what are the satisfying elements of your work, because those elements have created what you are. I learned I wanted a soft landing onto a place that involved continual learning and growing. I wanted retirement to be a small speed bump."

He also learned that keeping the energy and connection to resources is important to his next steps. "I will have to stay connected to community."

Of course, Pfanstiehl has not retired yet -- that will be some time. He returned from his sabbatical and began applying his new lessons immediately, beginning with the redesign of his own job.

We'll cover the changes he made in himself and the organization in the next edition of the Leadership Guide.