Do you miss being front and center

[Chuckanut]

I'm still front and center at times, but now I am front and center on the things I want to do and the issues I wish to take a stand on. At other times, I relax in the back and let others knock themselves out for fame and glory.

 

[Zorba]

I'm someone whose initial success was based on my research accomplishments but the Peter Principle ensured that I was promoted into management roles. Eventually, after several management positions, I ended up with the responsibility of managing ~250 people. After years of doing this front-and-center job, I happily stepped down and transitioned back into research. I don't miss the status or the money. Since becoming FI the quest for more money and status just don't mean as much to me.

 

[pb4uski]

My Dad was similar... was promoted out of sales into general management... he liked the prestige and $$$$ and was good at it but ultimately decided that he had enough $$$$ and missed the people aspect of sales so he asked for a demotion back to sales... did that for many years and was happy as a clam. Watching him do that was a valuable lesson for me as a young professional about the importance of balancing $$$$ with happiness.

 

[Lsbcal]

I've read through this thread now and am impressed by the heights some of you had risen too.

I'm just glad that ER.org responders don't usually bring their past business ranks into discussions. At least I rarely detect this. I suppose some money related discussions like travel and degrees of economizing have a lot to do with the size of our net worth. Net worth mostly being a function of previous business rank.

 

[Amethyst]

Most of my career (after the first 8 years) was spent as a supervisor or manager. In those positions, you are expected to notice things going awry and get them back on track. This leads to all sorts of ingrained habits and behaviors.

When I was rehired part-time after retirement, it was for a specific technical skill I possess. I was very happy not to have to oversee anyone's work. I did, though, catch myself trying to "fix" things that I could see needed fixing. Had to learn to squelch those instincts and allow the responsible parties to figure out what to do, even though at first I felt guilty and lazy because I was just doing the one task and not 7500 other things

 

[Walt34]

The only times that I was front and center were when I had screwed something up...

Same here. It wasn't really a screwup as I did what I was supposed to do but one time an unpopular action made the front page of the local newspaper for three days running. It was not a positive experience.

 

[Redbugdave]

I never had a job that produced a big ego. I was just a cog in a big wheel. That kept me in line. However, after retiring I think my ego got a little bigger since I am free to do whatever I want now and am in a better position than most of the people I ever worked with or under. No...I do not miss being front and center because I never was there. My ego never needed feeding so I did not have that need. I can now look anyone straight in the eyes and say what I want, (except to the police, Ha!). Out here you just another Joe Blow and that's the way I like it. Actually, that is good because I am getting into all sorts of things I have wanted to do with all sorts of other professions.

 

[check6]

That used to happen quite often. There was a certain tagline (positioning statement) at the end of the commercials which folk would ask me to say, then burst out laughing when they saw the voice they recognized coming from the guy standing in front of them.

Occasionally, I'd be in a store or somewhere else, and someone would say "You sound like the ****** guy." It was kind of fun saying, "That's because I am!"

Did you ever use the tag line, "We'll leave the light on for you."

 

[imoldernu]

Never made it to the top, and "successful person" is a matter of degree and perception, and in my case success, couldn't be classified as "financial".

was it hard to walk away from that more then the money you were making from a top layer position?

I don't guess that the money part was there, as the paid positions were in retail... but the original question led to some retrospection on the subject of leadership. Five minutes of nostalgia.... from childhood to today.

Grammar school... first in class, high school top 1%.
Boy scout leader. Scoutmaster, Committee leader (various) 26 years
High School through College... Captain of athletic teams
Director of aquatics in large summer camp
Officer in various school clubs and Fraternity
US Army Officer
Store Manager
District Manager
Territorial sales manager
National sales manager
Self employed business owner
SBA advisor and teacher
Retirement
HOA officer
Activities director and interest group coordinator for our various senior
communities, and social organiztions
Computer class teacher (20 yrs)

Fun ego trip... Never top dog, never "monied"... actually no more than anyone who likes people and enjoys contributing. So, not so much anymore, but a wonderful reminder, and a time for reflection.

Sometimes, it's not so much missing the fun days, but more of looking back at a fulfilling time of life, when being involved brought happiness.

 

[Car-Guy]

I just wondering with all the successful people that are here there must of been a lot of you that called the shots. You were front and center had authority and job power so to speak. Do you miss that part and the status you had? If so was it hard to walk away from that more then the money you were making from a top layer position?

I held a managers title for years at the mega corp I retired from. I never really felt like I was calling the shots but just carrying out the directives of the CEO and endless numbers of company presidents and vice presidents of the corp. They pointed the direction(s) and I just tried to hit their targets. Now that I'm retired, I have much more power, control, authority and only answer to the DW (I guess she's the CEO in my world, but at least I have a vote,,,,,, sometimes)

The hardest part (and probably the only hard part) of retiring early from mega corp was walking away from the crazy money they paid. Never missed any of the perceived authority I had there.

 

[Danmar]

We have made a lot of new friends in our lives as retirees. What is very interesting is that nobody really cares what you did before or the job status that you had. We are all equals and just trying to have fun together. Former CEO or plumber, the golf course treats you equally.

Generally agree with this view. However, I seldom meet new people who don't, relatively early on, ask me what I did for a living before retirement. Maybe just small talk but people seem to have a need to know. Many of our new friends since retirement are still working so discussing their jobs is also very common. Many are self employed and have interesting businesses. So it's mixed. One thing we don't talk about is politics.

 

[kcowan]

action made the front page of the local newspaper for three days running. It was not a positive experience.

I was profiled as a local retiree from big megacorp who had done well in his second career. Front page picture in the business section of the paper (in front of our headquarters, a rental building where the company had an office)

The notoriety was short lived but my client at the time was unimpressed because of inaccuracies in the article (by the reporter not me). Later in a different assignment, we announced my new executive team and published their pictures in the same paper without mine on purpose.

One thing we don't talk about is politics.

Another is religion or lack thereof!

 

[Revlefty]

My struggle

This has been a fascinating and informative thread for me to read. I am a minister that will retire next year. I have spent 40 years being "front and center." I will definitely struggle with relinquishing that role. Even now, when I am on vacation, I struggle to just sit and listen and not evaluate how I would do things differently.

 

[Racer X]

This has been a fascinating and informative thread for me to read. I am a minister that will retire next year. I have spent 40 years being "front and center." I will definitely struggle with relinquishing that role. Even now, when I am on vacation, I struggle to just sit and listen and not evaluate how I would do things differently.

My mother was a church secretary for 30+ years. To this day she sits in the pew at church and picks out typos in the bulletin.

 

[Danmar]

Another is religion or lack thereof!

Got that right. Especially in Arizona. Canadians tend to be less religious than our wonderful neighbours to the south.

 

[Major Tom]

Did you ever use the tag line, "We'll leave the light on for you."

I wish! I remember being quite envious of Tom Bodett's gig. None of my work was unionized, so I missed out on all those lovely residuals. Nice work if you can get it!

 

[Revlefty]

My mother was a church secretary for 30+ years. To this day she sits in the pew at church and picks out typos in the bulletin.

 

[swoop]

I was never in front or at the center, though I had my share of 5 minutes of fame. I chose to follow the technical ladder instead of the management ladder at megacorp for advancement.

What I miss is the fun of designing and building something and seeing it work. And I sometimes miss the income. I am slowly getting over it.

+1

Had a taste of managing people during my Army days. Never wanted to be a manager again. After retirement from the Army I had what I consider to be a very successful IT career. Enjoyed being the person who pushed the buttons. Retired in July. Was offered my j*b back twice but after a millisecond of thought politely declined. Don't need the money or the commute or the BS or the stress. Miss the challenge and some of the co-workers but not enough to consider going back.

 

[frugal-one]

I was a Federal senior executive for the last 15 years of my career. Interesting work but constant hassles and pressure that I don't miss. Like others have said, no one talks much about their former work when retired except briefly when they bump into someone they knew or who worked in a related job.

Same here. The stress level was intense! I am SO glad to be done!

 

[Mo Money]

No.

 

[Backpacker]

Most of my career (after the first 8 years) was spent as a supervisor or manager. In those positions, you are expected to notice things going awry and get them back on track. This leads to all sorts of ingrained habits and behaviors.

When I was rehired part-time after retirement, it was for a specific technical skill I possess. I was very happy not to have to oversee anyone's work. I did, though, catch myself trying to "fix" things that I could see needed fixing. Had to learn to squelch those instincts and allow the responsible parties to figure out what to do, even though at first I felt guilty and lazy because I was just doing the one task and not 7500 other things

Ditto to this. Sometimes it is hard to let others fumble through but that is how they(and I ) learn. 35 years of putting out fires is a hard habit to break.

 

[tmm99]

I was never front and center, and that would probably make me feel a bit squeamish, but I was a manager for a small technical team for a few years. When I started doing the manager work, it kind of astonished me that my team members actually listened to me with respect and did what I requested. There were often discussions as to why I wanted certain things done a certain way so they would know where I was coming from, and sometimes, I adjusted the method/course, etc, but still it was kind of nice that I had people who followed my directive. All I have now is my DH to tell what to do, and he doesn't always do what I request...

 

[Amethyst]

Yes, it can fool a person into thinking they are a natural leader

When I started doing the manager work, it kind of astonished me that my team members actually listened to me with respect and did what I requested:

Actually I was handed several "troubled" teams in my career, including a number of openly defiant people, and had to learn the hard way how to get people to actually want to do what I asked (or annoy/scare them into going elsewhere, which I also had to do a few times). Some needed to go, but most did just enough work that I couldn't give them bad PA's; it was their attitude that was the problem.

Once, I was given a team to lead whose members were 20 years older than I was. They were openly offended at getting such a "young" boss (I was in my mid-30s but you'd think I was 20, the way they acted). They were being age-discriminators in reverse! I told the ringleader, an enormous noisy woman who had wanted to be the team lead, that she was welcome to go seek a team lead who was older than she was. I stopped short of saying "if you can find one," but the point was taken. I think she was waiting to find out if I had b!+c# credentials before she would respect me.

 

[REWahoo]

Yes, it can fool a person into thinking they are a natural leader...

And we all know natural leaders are born, not made...

 

[tmm99]

Yes, it can fool a person into thinking they are a natural leader

Yep, my DH definitely shows me I am a hit/miss leader, at best!

Actually I was handed several "troubled" teams in my career, including a number of openly defiant people, and had to learn the hard way how to get people to actually want to do what I asked (or annoy/scare them into going elsewhere, which I also had to do a few times). Some needed to go, but most did just enough work that I couldn't give them bad PA's; it was their attitude that was the problem.

Once, I was given a team to lead whose members were 20 years older than I was. They were openly offended at getting such a "young" boss (I was in my mid-30s but you'd think I was 20, the way they acted). They were being age-discriminators in reverse! I told the ringleader, an enormous noisy woman who had wanted to be the team lead, that she was welcome to go seek a team lead who was older than she was. I stopped short of saying "if you can find one," but the point was taken. I think she was waiting to find out if I had b!+c# credentials before she would respect me.

Wow, you had some gangsta team members. I don't know what I would have done with incompetent, lazy, or hostile people. My team members were all competent and hard workers to start with (and they were all kind of mild mannered), so that certainly helped. It might have also helped that I was older than my team members (they were all men, but the oldest one was 10 years younger than me.) After reading your post, I feel I should consider myself lucky.