Family Leadership Strategies

67 How might a family approach the leadership succession process in a way that acknowledges differences in roles, attitudes, and motivations? Families that successfully navigate generational leadership transfers often exhibit six specific characteristics 1 : • Education and personal development: they invest in activities designed to identify and develop future leaders. • Acknowledgment and communication: they recognize the need to manage leadership development actively and create a climate where stakeholders can speak candidly and openly. • Well-articulated, perpetual process: they embrace clear — and often documented — policies around roles, succession process/selection, compensation, nepotism, governance, and conflict resolution. They also view the transition process as never ending, for just as one generation of leaders assume control, the next generation’s training must begin. • Collaborative paradigms: they acknowledge the changing nature of family leaders from being autocratic to more collaborative, and therefore encouraging involvement, particularly from younger generations. • Understanding motivations: they seek to understand the needs, desires, and hopes of the next generation, seniors, and extended family. 6 Six best practices for succession