Michael Beck

The Successor Litmus Test

A well-prepared successor is essential for a smooth transition and is critical for continued growth and profitability. The question then, is how do you determine whether a successor is ready to take over? What is the “Litmus Test” that will reveal their degree of readiness?

The answer is that there is none.

There is no one “test” that will reveal their preparedness. Rather, there are several things (you can call them tests if you like) that will reveal just how competent they really are. Here are a few suggestions you can use to evaluate your successor:

Vision: Ask your successor what his or her vision is for the future of the company. Do they talk about maintaining or do they talk about growing? Do they talk about changes they’d make? Do they talk about the company’s culture? Do they have an eye on the customer and the competition?

Any and all of these issues can and should be an essential part of someone’s vision for the future of the company. By listening to what they talk about and listening for what they don’t talk about, it will reveal whether they’re beginning to think like an owner.

Strategy: When an issue arises within the company, ask your successor how they would resolve it. Help them to differentiate between problems and symptoms. Help them differentiate between strategies and tactics.

If they attempt to “solve” a symptom, the solution almost always makes the situation worse. Help them to understand that before a strategy can be developed, the underlying problem must first be identified. Once the true problem is uncovered, the best strategy almost always presents itself. Helping them understand these insights will help keep them from developing poor initiatives.

Decision-Making: Making sound business decisions is key to the future of the business. Good decision-making requires business savvy, sound judgment, and the ability to see the bigger picture.

Have your successor start by making less critical decisions. As he or she demonstrates competence, allow them to participate in decisions that have a greater impact on the company. Coach and mentor them on how to make better decisions. Only by helping them make course corrections can you hone their decision-making abilities.

Judgment: There’s only one real way to test their judgment. The one true test of judgment – after all the other development has taken place – is to leave.

Ask yourself how long you’d be comfortable being away from the business. And then leave. At first, it may be for a few days. Then a week. At some point, it may be that you can stay away for two weeks or even a month. The truth is that at some point, when you retire, you will be away from the business all the time.

If you’re not comfortable with staying away for an extended period of time, it’s generally due to one of two things. Either your successor isn’t yet ready to take over, or you aren’t prepared to let go. Either way, something needs to change if you want a smooth and successful transition.

If you’d like help preparing your successor, please give us a call. We specialize in successor assessment, successor development, and successor recruiting.

5 Strategies for Effective Successor Development

If you’re planning on selling your business to a successor (family or key executive), developing them as thoroughly as possible is essential. Not investing the time to properly develop them can lead to retirement delays, frustrations, missed payments or worse (like having to come out of retirement and salvage things).

After working with leaders for the last 20 years, we’ve determined that these are the five smartest things you can do – above and beyond teaching them “the mechanics” of your business – to maximize the likelihood of success.

1. Get an Objective Assessment
Let’s face it, we all have blind spots. And our blind spots cause us to miss things – especially when it comes to successors because we’re too close and have a lot riding on their success.

In addition, although you no doubt have many years of experience, your opinion is only part of the equation. It’s critical to find out how others view him or her, since they’ll be the ones who will either follow the successor’s lead or will choose not to trust and respect them.

The smartest way to evaluate a successor is by conducting a 360° assessment. This assessment solicits feedback from people all around them (you, peers, direct reports, etc.). The report generated by an objective 360°assessment will highlight their strengths and their weaknesses, which will provide you with guidance on how to further develop them to be more effective.

2. Have Regular Developmental Discussions
Successors can’t be trained. They must be developed over time. In other words, if successors could be trained, they could simply read some books and attend a workshop or two and become a better leader and an owner. It doesn’t work like that. For someone to become more effective as a leader and owner, he or she must break old habits and form new ones. They need to improve their interpersonal skills, learn to think strategically, and become effective at influencing others. In addition, they have their own blind spots and can’t see what they’re missing nor can they see where they’ve gone wrong.

That’s why, for successor development to be effective, it’s important to have developmental discussions once a week or at least twice a month. During these discussions you should talk about things that happened since your last meeting with them and suggest ways they could have handled things differently or more effectively. It’s an ongoing process and usually takes about 6-12 months to get the results you want.

3. Help Them to Think More Strategically
I’ve seen it over and over again. Leaders looking to increase profits develop a strategy to get better results. Except the so-called strategy they develop is not really a strategy at all. It’s just a goal. Or a tactic. Or sometimes it’s simply a platitude – a nice-sounding, but meaningless statement.

Regardless of whether they developed a goal, a tactic or a platitude, the results are always the same. The so-called “strategy” is never realized. No amount of encouragement, accountability or table pounding will lead to achieving the desired results. Only a true strategy stands a chance of achieving significant results.

In order to help a successor think more strategically, two things must happen. First, they need to understand the distinctions between strategies, tactics, goals, and platitudes.

A good strategy addresses a problem or an opportunity. Help your successor learn the differences between strategies and tactics.

And then they need to learn to differentiate between problems and symptoms. A strategy developed to address a symptom almost always produces weak results and always causes new issues to arise, thereby compounding the situation. The key, therefore, is to teach your successor how to uncover the problem or problems causing the symptoms.

4. Help Them to Be More Persuasive/Influential
Mastering the ability to influence others is critical to the success and effectiveness of a leader. A strategy, no matter how well thought out, will get mediocre results if there isn’t strong buy-in. A leader will always get compliance because of his or her authority. But compliance and commitment are two different things.

How do you influence people? How do you change their perspective, so you get buy-in? The most effective means of influencing others is by asking good questions and the use of analogies.

Asking good questions is an art. It took me many years to master it, with lots of practice and plenty of missed opportunities. Help your successor learn to ask questions that will change someone’s perspective. The right questions will give them insight into how the other person thinks and give your successor the needed insights to shift the person’s thinking.

The second tool for influencing people is through the use of analogies. Analogies are an excellent vehicle for bringing someone around to your way of seeing things. Help your successor see that using an analogy can help people “see” and “feel” the concept they’re talking about and does it in such a way as to keep them from becoming defensive.

5. Refine Their Decision-Making Abilities
As every owner know, it’s up to them to make the final decision on every significant issue. In order for your successor to make smart decisions, you need to groom him or her in several areas.

Often, decisions must be made without certainty about the future. Therefore, you need to help them improve their judgment and learn to balance risk and reward. They need to be savvy about business in general and understand financial statements. Since your successor has probably only ever been an employee (and never an owner), you need to help them think like an owner, see the big picture, and balance long-term and short-term needs. And finally, you need to help them learn the wisdom in getting outside perspective. It will help reveal blind spots and give them objective insights.

Properly developing a successor is important. The future of the business depends on it, the livelihood of your employees depends on it, and your retirement plans depend on it.

If you’d like help developing your successor, please contact us. It’s our specialty.

The Three Leadership Competencies That Matter Most in Times of Crisis

In times of crisis and uncertainty, people experience the gamut of emotions. Some are afraid (of both the known and the unknown). Some people get angry, others are frustrated. Some get depressed and some feel lonely. The list goes on…

It’s because of this wide range of negative emotions that leaders need to step up and play an important role. Leaders need to de-escalate anxiety and fear, and they need to offer hope for the future.

Although there are many traits and competencies a good leader must possess, three stand out as critical in times of crisis – Executive Presence, Empathy, and Effective Communication.

EXECUTIVE PRESENCE
Having executive presence is the ability to project mature self-confidence, to project a sense of being able to take control of difficult situations, and to project the ability to make tough decisions. There’s no one thing that gives a leader executive presence. Instead, it’s a combination of a number of factors:

Confidence: Especially during a crisis, a leader must display a strong level of confidence without being overly confident. It’s OK not to have all the answers. And it’s OK for people to know a leader doesn’t have all the answers. In fact, being open (transparent) and honest (vulnerable) act to build trust and respect. Be confident, but not casual or over-confident, in order to have executive presence.
Decisiveness: In business, postponing a decision until more facts are revealed or the future becomes clearer can be a smart course of action. But often, leaders must make decisions without all the facts and without certainty about the future. Even though the future may be cloudy, a leader with executive presence must make decisions in the face of that uncertainty.
Authoritative: How a leader leads should vary with circumstances (situational leadership). Under normal circumstances, it might be most effective to lead by getting buy-in for an idea or by coming to a decision by consensus. But in times of crisis, a leader must be strong and act in an authoritative manner in order to have executive presence.
Body Language: Our body language communicates a large amount of information. Body language includes how we hold ourselves when we sit, stand and walk. How a leader carries him or herself reflects their state of mind, so it’s important to sit and stand in a manner that projects and instills confidence. In addition, facial expressions matter. People often read others by their facial expressions. A leader’s expression shouldn’t reflect casualness, anger or fear if their intent is to instill confidence. A leader with executive presence is mindful of his or her body language.
Emotional Control: For leaders to instill confidence, earn trust and earn respect, they must stay in control of their emotions. Emotional outbursts are seen as a loss of control and people know that a leader who loses control is feeling overwhelmed. An overwhelmed leader lacks executive presence. Be mindful of emotions and the expression of those emotions in order to have executive presence.

In times of crisis, it’s important to have a strong executive presence.

EMPATHY
A leader who has empathy understands the feelings, needs and concerns of others. He or she is able to define, understand, and react to the concerns and needs that underlie people’s emotional responses and reactions.

The issue here is the importance of treating people like people rather than like “things”. When a leader regards people as people, he or she acknowledges that everyone – regardless of position or tenure – has hopes and dreams, fears and stresses.

Although it’s never productive to treat people like “assets” or “resources”, it’s especially true in times of crisis. If a leader communicates and deals with people as if they were “things”, it demonstrates that the leader doesn’t care about them. And a leader who doesn’t care about the people he or she leads loses the respect and trust of those people.

It’s not that a leader with empathy accepts mediocrity or doesn’t hold people accountable. Instead, having empathy is about HOW they hold people accountable and how they bring out the best in people. Most people want to do a good job – especially in times of crisis. By being understanding and helping people be productive given their specific circumstances, a leader will get more engagement, better results, and earn their loyalty.

In times of crisis, it’s important to have empathy and treat people like people.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Especially in times of crisis, how and what we say can have an enormous impact on people. People are quick to interpret (or misinterpret) messages. People are more sensitive to tone and languaging. And people are looking for reassurance and hope.

In times of uncertainty, it is essential for a leader to choose his or her words carefully. Leaders must make sure they say exactly what they mean to say. Read and then re-read each note and/or message. Try to read it from the point of view of the reader to ensure the message can’t be misconstrued. Make sure the wording has the right emotional “feel” as well. Remember, the reader can’t hear inflections or emphasis when they read the note.

Along those lines, often a phone call, conference call or video call/meeting can be a better solution for addressing issues than written communication. People can hear a leader’s tone and sincerity in their voice. If video is added to the equation, people also get to see a leader’s body language.

In times of crisis, it’s important to take time to craft each message and how it’s delivered.

If you’d like help with any of this, reach out to us. We specialize in helping leaders become more effective and help them bring out the best in people.

How Owners Think Differently

Up until a successor takes over as an owner, they have typically only ever been an employee. Therefore, it is critical to help them begin adopting an Owner’s Mindset prior to handing over the keys.

Owners and employees generally think differently. I remember when I first became owner of a company. I co-owned a restaurant development company, where developed our own restaurant chain and also developed a territory for a national franchise.

Suddenly, every purchase felt like (and was) coming out of my own pocket. I spent a whole lot more time justifying expenditures that I did as an employee. And while before, my focus was on doing my job well, now, everyone’s job became my concern.

Employees typically are focused on getting their work done, while owners, in contrast, need to anticipate problems, develop strategies, and plan for growth. And while employees are concerned with their paycheck, owners are concerned with paying the bills. All the bills.

As I soon learned, owners also need to see the bigger picture – both internally and externally. An effective owner needs to be aware of the economy, the marketplace, and the competition. It will influence how they develop strategies to grow the company. (Employees tend to focus on the here and now.) Additionally, an owner soon realizes that most decisions impact almost every aspect of a business and therefore require more thought (and forethought).

I also remember that when I was an employee, I often gave thought to what other opportunities might be out there. You see, if a business doesn’t do well, or you (as an employee) become dissatisfied at work, you simply find a new job. Owners, on the other hand, understand that there is no “Plan B”. The company is their future. The future now rested on my ability to grow the company and its profits.

In short, for a new successor to succeed, they need to adopt an Owner’s Mindset. Not doing so will almost certainly lead to missteps and setbacks. Our Successor Development program helps prepare a successor to become an Owner.

How to Choose a Successor

Selecting a successor to take over your business is serious business. The future of the company rides on it. The livelihood of the people employed depends on it. And the ability to make buyout payments to you relies on it.

In order effectively choose a successor, six aspects of a person need to be considered and evaluated:

• Business Mechanics – their understanding of how the products and services get produced and delivered
• Leadership Competence – their interpersonal skills, influence abilities, and a vision for the future
• Strategic Thinking – their ability to distinguish between problems, symptoms, strategies and tactics
• Sound Judgment – their ability to make good decisions and to choose an appropriate level of risk
• Personality Traits – their drive, attitude, social skills and energy level
• Cultural Fit – their alignment with the values and behaviors that matter to the company

Of course, understanding all this and ensuring a successor has all of these traits and competencies are two different things. Here are some guidelines to help evaluate a potential successor:

BUSINESS MECHANICS
Although understanding how the business works is important, it’s the easiest of the aspects to determine and/or develop. If they’ve worked for you for a while, you’ll have a pretty good idea of whether they understand the business. If they haven’t worked in the company, then have them spend time in each area of the business and see how well they do.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCE
As an owner, a successor will (and should) spend much of their time leading rather than producing and delivering products and services. Therefore, leadership competence becomes critical for success. Fortunately, a 360 assessment will provide an objective picture of their leadership abilities and if needed, a professional executive coach can develop any areas needing improvement.

STRATEGIC THINKING
Reacting to a symptom instead of spending time understanding the underlying problem almost always leads to worse results. The best means of evaluating whether someone can think strategically is to allow them to develop strategies and present them to you. Not only will you be able to assess their abilities, but it will allow you to coach and mentor them if needed.

SOUND JUDGMENT
The only way to know if someone’s judgment is sound is to allow them to make decisions. Start with decisions that have a minimal impact on the on the business and/or can easily be corrected. As the decisions become more impactful, have them make their decisions in stages, checking in with you at each step so you can correct and mentor them before moving on to the next step.

PERSONALITY TRAITS
Before you evaluate a potential successor’s personality, you first need to decide whether the company needs an owner with the same personality as you or, at this point in the growth of the business, it requires a different type of individual. Once you’ve defined the type of personality needed, it should become fairly clear whether the individual has the needed traits. Remember, however, that unlike the other needed competencies, personality is innate and can’t be “developed”. Either they have the personality traits or they don’t.

CULTURAL FIT
Culture is defined by the values and behaviors demonstrated by the leadership of a company. If your successor doesn’t embody the culture you’ve established over the years, a different culture will emerge and the company will change. Additionally, if a leader professes to the importance of certain values but acts in a manner at odds with those values, it demonstrates a lack of integrity. Make sure your successor is living your company’s culture.

If you’d like our help evaluating and/or developing your successor, please contact us to discuss your situation.