Finding a successful successor for your organisation is becoming increasingly difficult. It used to be simple: the company would be passed from father to son, from generation to generation. Families assumed that the blood relative would be the best possible successor, and that the new heir would not only have their father’s characteristic chin, but also his entrepreneurial skills. As soon as the successor could walk, he would spend a day in the family business. The company would then watch the successor grow, until one day he was ready to take over the baton from his father. Whether he was the right person for it, was a question nobody asked: after all, he was born for it.

Today, we have to ask more questions than ever before. What makes someone a suitable successor? How do we prepare this successor to take over the organisation? Or should we rather prepare the organisation for the successor? We asked Tanno Bregonje. Tanno is a counsellor for (senior) executives and executive teams. He’s fascinated by, and specialises in, leadership and everything related to it. He also assists coaches in carrying out profound interventions with senior executives.

What goes on in today’s world of working?

The world, and with it the world of working, is becoming increasingly complex. The lifecycle of organisations, and the leaders who run them, is becoming shorter and shorter. Tanno says: “When I was trained, I was taught how to create a strategic business plan for the next 15 years. Today’s leaders are trained to make plans and business models that have to be reinvented every year.” We live in the so-called ‘VUCA world’: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. “To survive in the VUCA world, you have to be able to constantly reassess your own thinking,” says Tanno. Leadership used to be about gaining and keeping control. Today, leaders must learn to let go of control.

Getting the successor ready for the organisation, or getting the organisation ready for the successor?

The organisation and perhaps also the chosen successor might decide to go in a different direction. Tanno explains: “The real issue is not whether we should prepare the successor for the organisation, or vice versa. The real issue is whether the organisation is preparing for the demands of the (future) customer. If we select the leaders of tomorrow for the company of today, we’re missing the point. We need a shift that selects tomorrow’s leaders for the company of the future. As a future leader, can you deliver what future customers demand of you? And in the context of succession issues, does your son or daughter have the right qualities to run the company of the future? The most important question is: does your son or daughter wants to do this?”

What qualities does the leader of the future need?

In this day and age, we can’t assume that the next generation wants to take over the family business. Even if they have inherited the entrepreneurial skills as well as the chin, it’s possible that they will never want to shape it in their own way. For example, they may not want to take over the car company that has been in the family for years, but they do want to start a farm. “To find out whether someone is a suitable successor, you first have to find out what their personal purpose is. Even if it’s not in the family’s line of business,” says Tanno. A new generation is waking up and learning that they have a choice, and can say thank you for the legacy that may already have had their name written on it. Tanno continues: “Working in an environment in which you aren’t happy leads to a loss of energy. That doesn’t make the successor or the organisation happy or better in the long run. Karel Samson was a professor of entrepreneurship at Nyenrode University. He researched what made companies successful in over 100 family businesses. The answer? Self-reflection!”

How do you ensure your organisation is ready for the future?

If it was up to Tanno, we would have to keep asking questions to ourselves. What does our future customer want? What do they need? What does the organisation need to develop in order to meet those expectations and demands, and which leader is suitable? “The
organisation, the current leader, and the leader of the future should ask themselves as many questions as possible. Self-reflection is the distinguishing feature of success. The right successor? He or she will not always be born into the current family. Being open to that possibility may very well ensure the future of your organisation.”