For Leaders in Transition
SHIFT:next
The next chapter isn't a
plan.
It's a person you haven't met yet.
Not career coaching… an identity transformation framework.
The Identity Gap
The hardest part of what's next isn't finding it. It's letting go of who you've been.
You've built something real. Led teams. Carried numbers. Made decisions that mattered. And somewhere along the way, you realized — the current chapter isn't it anymore.
Most transition programs start with tactics. Update the resume. Map the market. Network harder. SHIFT:next starts somewhere different — with the identity that's been running the show.
Because the next move doesn't come from analyzing options. It comes from knowing who you actually are when you strip away the title, the team, and the doing.
What leaders in transition are actually saying:
"I've been successful by every measure. So why does it feel like I'm done here?"
"I keep exploring options but nothing feels right. Maybe the problem isn't the options."
"I wake up without a title for the first time in twenty years and I don't know who I am without it."
Let's Be Clear
What SHIFT:next is not
And what it actually is.
Not career coaching
We don't write resumes, run networking strategies, or optimize LinkedIn profiles. You already know how to work.
Not therapy
This isn't about healing the past. It's about seeing the constructed self clearly enough to choose what comes next.
Not a sabbatical program
This isn't about taking a break. It's about doing the hardest work of your career — becoming someone new.
What SHIFT:next is
A 4–6 month hybrid coaching engagement built on a single premise:
The identity shift precedes the right action — not the other way around.
SHIFT:next is ontological. While most transition programs ask what do you know and what's the market opportunity, we ask who are you when you strip away the doing? The answer to that question makes every decision that follows more obvious.
Delivered through deep 1:1 work with Thomas and a small peer cohort of 4–6 leaders at the same altitude going through the same thing.
The Work
The arc of the engagement
Four phases over 4–6 months. Each builds on the last.
Phase 1: Detachment — Who have I been being?
Separating identity from role. This is the hardest part and where most people stall. Leaders keep exploring options when the real work is grieving who they were. We surface the constructed self — the one built to succeed in a specific context — and create enough space to see it as a construction rather than a truth.
Phase 2: Clarity — Who am I now, absent all the scaffolding?
Not "what do I want to do next" but "what do I actually value now that I'm not performing for anyone." This is where optionality paralysis lives. The work is learning to sit in not-knowing as a generative state rather than a failure state — and using constraint design to narrow the field based on values, energy, and non-negotiables.
Phase 3: Architecture — What does someone like who I actually am build?
Where ontology meets strategy. Business model, stakeholder mapping, 90-day launch logic, resource allocation — all built on what emerged in Phases 1 and 2 instead of defaulting to the old playbook.
Phase 4: Motion — Who am I being now?
Ontological commitment. Not just "I'm doing this" but "I'm being this now." First moves. Accountability structures. Peer pressure from the cohort. A clear definition of what done looks like. Optional LCP re-assessment to show the shift and bookend the program.
The Framework
Navigating the identity shift
What happens when a leader stops performing and starts becoming.
The Structure
How we work together
| Element | Cadence | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Private Coaching (1:1) | 2×/month (45–60 min) |
The core of the identity work. Deep ontological sessions with Thomas. |
| Cohort Sessions | Monthly (90 min) |
4–6 leaders at the same altitude. Honest conversation. Peer accountability. |
| Leadership Circle Profile | Kickoff + Optional Close | Baseline assessment reframed for transition — who you've been being vs. who you're becoming. |
| Pre-Session Reflection | Before each 1:1 | Structured prompts to surface what's actually happening beneath the surface. |
| Session Notes | After each 1:1 | Written debrief with commitments, experiments, and phase progress. |
| Phase Gate Check-ins | Between phases | Readiness assessment before advancing — the work is sequential, not modular. |
The Difference
This isn't typical transition support
Career Coaching
Focuses on market positioning, resume optimization, and networking strategy. Measures success by speed to next role. Treats the leader as a professional looking for a match.
Standard Executive Coaching
Focuses on the "whole person" — mindset, presence, stakeholder management. Often disconnected from the specific existential challenge of letting go and rebuilding.
SHIFT:next
Focuses on the identity transformation that makes the right next move obvious. Measures success by the depth of the shift — not just what you do next, but who you become.
Optional peer cohort available by waitlist — because this work is too important to do alone, and too personal to do with people who don't understand the altitude.
Investment
4–6 month engagement
1:1 Engagement
$10,000+
project-based
4–6 months · Private coaching · LCP assessment · Full four-phase arc
1:1 + Cohort
$15,000+
project-based
Everything above, plus monthly cohort sessions with 4–6 peer leaders · By waitlist
Scoped by engagement length, cohort timing, and depth of work.
Next Step
Let's talk…
The 1:1 path is available now. The cohort experience is by waitlist — we'll let you know when the next group is forming.
Either way, it starts with a conversation. Not a pitch. An honest look at whether this is the right framework for where you actually stand right now. Not where you think you should be. Where you are.
Book 30 minutes for us to talk today.
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