This is the final article in this series on transitioning your team, organization, or family business to a new generation of leaders.
If you have not read the first two articles in the series, I encourage you to do so now! If you want your business to succeed well beyond you, I promise you will not be wasting your time.
If you have read the first two articles, please proceed.
We are going to dive right in on the next steps in this transition process, including creating healthy boundaries, clearly defining roles, expertly designing governance documents, and reaching out for help.
Healthy boundaries are a necessity for organizational health in all leadership teams and organizations. In any business, people make decisions, say things, and do things that affect others.
Many times, patterns of selfish behavior are the issue, and establishing healthy boundaries within a team ensures mutual respect, prevents misunderstandings, and helps maintain organizational health.
Have you ever had a scenario where you were leading one part of the operation and your sibling, parent, or partner who was leading another part of the operation made a decision that impacted the part of the operation you were leading?
For example, let’s say you lead the cattle side of the operation, and your sibling runs the farming and finance side of the operation. Your sibling decides to stop planting rye or wheat on a couple quarters that you normally graze without consulting you.
No matter the type of organization or operation, when one person makes a decision that impacts another area of the operation without seeking input from the other leader, it leads to tension, trust issues, and the feeling of imbalance in decision making, power, and control.
If repeated often, this will strain both personal relationships and the effectiveness of the business.
Boundaries are also a challenge when things get personal or when team members or leaders make decisions or act contrary to the mission, vision, and values of the business.
Has a team member ever been less than 100% honest, failed to hold up their end of the deal, or not done what they said they would do?
Sometimes someone else’s behavior is extreme enough that it affects your decision making or the health of the business.
Healthy boundaries are necessary in every operation, especially when working with people that lack self-awareness or tend to manipulate others.
Here are some signs people might exhibit that indicate a need for clear boundaries:
• Taking on others’ responsibilities
• Making unilateral decisions, or unilaterally overriding previously made decisions
• Constantly contacting people in off hours
• Taking credit for others’ work
• Attacking the performer and not the performance
• Micromanaging others
• Frequently changing priorities
“Who does what” is a basic concept but often neglected because we want all team members to be willing and able to do anything in the operation at any time.
We do not want to start a “that’s not my job” mentality in our organization. In smaller operations, there are often many “grey areas” concerning who does what.
Having people that can wear many different hats is a strength of most small businesses, but it can also be a weakness because lack of clarity in roles often has unintended consequences, such as:
• Confusion for one person or an entire team
• Tension between two people or an entire team
• Lack of clarity in decision making
• Conflict and misunderstanding
• Accountability issues
• Emotional stress
• Strained relationships
• Hurt feelings
• Decreased productivity
In the end, lack of clarity in roles will create issues for the whole team or organization, as well as major challenges in executing the transition in leadership, ownership, decision making, control, and power.
To create clarity, put on paper who does what, when they do it, and how they do it. This can be done by the founder or CEO, but it is best if everyone can work on this together.
The goal is to allow people to do what they are best at and to pursue what they are passionate about with the basic understanding that everyone may have some things they are responsible for that they may not enjoy.
I am not an expert on governance, but I wanted to share a few observations from my experiences.
Governance documents create legal clarity in exactly how things play out and decisions are made over the coming years, decades, and generations through changes in ownership, decision making, control, and power.
This is very important for all businesses, regardless of size, to help ensure things are done correctly and in line with the wishes of the leaders in charge of the stewardship and legacy of the business. The appropriate governance documents will vary from business to business.
Two documents which may be relevant are a trust and an operating agreement. In basic terms, trusts outline how ownership is passed on, and operating agreements outline how owners operate.
To be honest, I despise reading legal documents. However, they are necessary for the sustainability and longevity of your legacy operation.
While we often look for areas to save money, this is not the area to do so. Look for a legal team or organization that does succession planning specifically.
Cost will vary depending on the size of the operation, the scope of work, and the complexity of the plan, but be prepared to pay to do this right with a highly qualified legal team.
We have covered many specific actions and opportunities in the three articles in this series, and it probably feels a bit overwhelming. You are not alone.
This process is not easy and will create some uncomfortable conversations, tension, stress, and challenges you may not be prepared to work through. That’s okay.
Recognize that and bring in outside help to come alongside you and your team to listen and assess what is best for the legacy of your operation.
In the end, we must nurture ourselves so we can nurture our legacy businesses to succeed well beyond us.
This series was designed to help with that, based on my observations and experiences from my family, owning a veterinary clinic, being a partner in multiple businesses, and walking alongside several businesses going through transitions.
Seeing others experience and personally feeling the visceral pain of progressing through a business transition has inspired me to help shed some light on these journeys in the hope that I can help you avoid some of the same pain.
It is not easy, but if you reach out for help and keep rowing the boat through this process, your legacy operation will succeed well beyond you and into multiple generations.
Isn’t that your real goal? It is mine! Stay focused and keep moving forward! Your team needs you to lead on this!
Dr. Nels Lindberg is a people coach, team coach, business coach, and keynote speaker, available virtually or in person. If you have any interest in these opportunities, please reach out to his office at 620-792-1265 and visit with his right-hand lady, Jill.
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