On 'stopping work' - the amazing legacy of an amazing man.

Above: Photo of Hormoz Ahmadzadeh at the Ideas Into Action Development Day, London, June 2023.

I wanted to write something about retirement on LinkedIn, but I couldn't condense what I needed to say into the limited number of words you're allowed in a post. So I'll say it here.

As a platform built around the world of work, LinkedIn covers almost everything you can think of. But retirement is one area it rarely touches upon, apart from stuff about pensions.

Today, my husband, Hormoz Ahmadzadeh, retires as he reaches his 65th year. He’ll be stepping down as co-director of the company he co-founded 12 years ago - Result CIC. It’s a coaching and training company specialising in supporting marginalised people and communities, as well as working with organisations seeking to improve their EDI practice. Clients have included the NHS, the BBC, Amnesty International, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, George House Trust, Paraorchestra and many more.  Partnerships have resulted in programmes working with marginalised people or groups who have benefited from Result’s services, including refugees and immigrants, disabled people, global majority communities, LGBTQ+ people, those with mental health issues… All of Result’s associates (it’s a not-for-profit community interest company) have lived experience of the marginalisations they seek to work with, myself included. 

It is a remarkable, kind, brave, resilient and successful organisation and he is rightly proud of it. And I am rightly proud of him and all that he has achieved.

25 years ago, a massive breakdown that lasted for two years and a consequent bipolar diagnosis left Hormoz at a major crossroads. He chose to take the worst period of his life and turn the experience into the most positive of outcomes. He recognised the causes of his breakdown and truly started to deal with them and, with the support of loved ones and some brilliant healthcare, re-invented himself in the best possible way.

The coaching support Hormoz had during his recovery had a huge impact and planted the seed of what would become his future path. As a coach, both individually and as part of Result, Hormoz has, quite literally, changed lives. I know, because I’ve seen people tell him. I’ve been moved to tears as he has modestly, gracefully, gently listened to people who have gone through terrible hardships and faced horrendous challenges, tell him how his kind, empathetic, grounded support has impacted on them, has given them hope, purpose and has turned their lives around.

At a recent conference in London, a panel member’s presentation referred to the lowest point of her professional life, one which felt impossible to get through. Then, she faltered slightly as her voice cracked. She looked out into the audience until she could see Hormoz and said tearfully, “And then I met that wonderful man there, Hormoz, and it changed my life.”

35 years ago, I met that same wonderful man and it changed my life, too. I was 24 and he was 29. Today, he’s 65, and a new phase of our life together starts.

Hormoz has decided that he isn’t retiring - he is going to ‘stop working’, which he sees as something less final, less resigned to the traditional notion of reaching your pensionable years, something less passive.

For those of us approaching those years ourselves, we inevitably think about our professional legacies. Most of us will hope that we’ve had a positive impact in our careers, of course. But I reckon what really stands out are the relationships we’ve forged and the influences and connections that continue to resonate beyond work.

As part of Ideas Into Action, Hormoz supported refugees to believe in their own community-based business ideas and become social entrepreneurs. As part of DELTA, Hormoz worked with disabled leaders in the Civil Service to value their differences and see them as strengths. He has been a Board member of both DaDa and 42nd Street, using his skills to encourage charities working with marginalised people to thrive.

Hormoz has literally changed lives. And don’t just take my word for it. Spend a few minutes with the inspirational Ruth Ibegbuna, founder of Rekindle School, or the brilliant CEO of Young Manchester, Samuel Remi-Akinwale, and ask them about Hormoz and the difference his coaching made to them. Spend a minute with the brilliant Dr Hamied Haroon of the University of Manchester. Chat to colleagues, like Jane Cordell, Saif Ali or Result advisors Jackie Driver and Patrick Davis. Like collaborators such as Lucas Farthing and Fred Kastner of TERN, and the many participants in Result’s extraordinary programmes who benefited from Hormoz’s passion for supporting people and communities to bring about positive societal change.
 
Hormoz changed his own life 25 years ago, a reminder that we can all achieve what we may have thought impossible. He may not be working anymore, but the ripples of his influence will be felt for many years in the lives of many people. What an incredible legacy.

And lucky me - I get to spend the rest of my life with him. 

Happy ‘stopping work’ Hormoz. xxx