Field notes
Preparing a successor who grew up on site
Knowing the smell of the workshop is not the same as leading it. Readiness work separates inherited knowledge from authority.
Successors who spent school holidays sweeping floors often carry deep product knowledge and thin management scars. Staff may still see them as “the boss’s child,” which changes how bad news travels.
What readiness actually checks
- Can they hold a budget line when a favourite supplier disappoints?
- Do non-family managers trust them with confidential staff issues?
- Will they make a pricing call without ringing the outgoing owner?
- How do they speak about relatives who draw from the business but do not work in it?
Useful experiments
Give the candidate a ring-fenced project with a real P&L and a public end date. Pair that with confidential feedback from two managers who are not competing for the same seat. The combination tells you more than another strategy away-day.
Our next-generation leadership readiness consultation is built around observation and coaching, not motivational speeches.