Waiting to Cross the Bridge

12 May Waiting to Cross the Bridge

Several weeks ago, my spouse and I found ourselves unexpectedly stranded on one side of the Mackinac Bridge. A severe ice storm had whipped through Northern Michigan, and massive sheets of ice were falling from the bridge’s cables and towers, making it unsafe to cross. For six hours, we joined a group of fellow travelers in a McDonald’s, charging our devices and adapting to a day that hadn’t gone as planned.

The Mackinac Bridge connects Michigan’s more populated Lower Peninsula to its quieter, more rugged Upper Peninsula. It’s one of the longest suspension bridges in the world and crossing it to head Up North always feels like a passage from one pace of life to another.

Transitions in leadership can feel a bit like this – uncertain, out of your control, and slower than you expected. It can feel like the way forward is blocked, even when you know exactly where you’re headed. But this waiting period is part of the journey.

Succession planning often begins with the senior generation and their pressing concerns. When do they plan to exit? How will they see a return on their investment? How will tax and estate issues be handled?  These are important questions, and they deserve thoughtful answers. But successors also have a critical role to play – one that begins well before they step into leadership.

Here are five ways successors can make the most of the in-between time, and contribute to a smooth and meaningful transition.

1. Show Respect for the Past. Many successors are the children of parents who founded or inherited a business. Growing up in a family company, it’s easy to take your parents’ success for granted. Remember that their story is a basis for your learning. Their hard work has planted the seeds for your future opportunities.
2. Take Responsibility for the Future. As a future leader, take responsibility for your own development. Ask for feedback on your strengths and shortcomings. Find mentors who can help guide and encourage you in the transition. Connect with other successors like you, who may be experiencing some of the same challenges.
3. Know the Business. You may have grown up with business talk around the dinner table, but do you understand the business like the back of your hand? Have you worked in different roles? Do you fully understand company operations? What about your knowledge of the industry and about business in general? There’s a lot to know, before you can lead.
4. Be a Good Steward. As a successor, do your part now to protect all of your family’s assets, human, physical and financial. Maintain the highest standards. Work on your relationships. Live within your means. Set an example that others want to follow. You may be about to inherit a business, but leadership is earned.
5. Exercise Patience. The transition from one generation to the next takes time – even years. Weaving together multiple transitions of ownership, leadership, business and family isn’t a sprint. The goal is a seamless transition over time, not a sudden jump from one place to the next.

And that’s where bridges come in. As a successor you’re in a unique position to help bridge the gap between one era of leadership and the next. You have energy and new ideas. You’re looking toward the future. You have a stake in it. If you’re part of the next generation of a business family, work on your role in the transition, just as hard as you’ll work on the business when it’s your time to lead.