Transfer Your Most Important Relationships to your Successor

Your new owner brings many wonderful strengths and experiences to your business, but there’s one thing they probably lack: the depth and breadth of the relationships you have invested years building and maintaining. They will never be just like you in those relationships and they cannot start with the depth of connections you have with your key vendors, customers and employees. This is a huge concern for a lot of owners because they have been the company’s primary external relationship builders. So how do you transition them to a new owner, to build trust and credibility?

Transitioning a Relationship to an Advisory Board

A second generation owner needed to transition the relationship with his Advisory board to his successor, a key employee. The advisory board had been in place since the owner’s father started the business, so the current owner (Jeff) did not seat the board. As a result, Jeff’s relationship with the board had always been tenuous. The new successor (Paul) didn’t yet have any relationship with the board. As an employee, he had an awareness of the board as they came to quarterly meetings on site, but had never met the board members. Now, with a transition around the corner, he needed to build a strong relationship with the board quickly, establishing credibility, trust and rapport so he could depend upon them and they could support him.

Initially, Jeff and Paul spent some time talking about the reason for the advisory board, the history and the contribution it could make in guiding the business, introducing qualified prospects, and providing support to for Paul. They also recognized the board could be a thorn in his side and difficult to manage if he did not invest in the relationships up front.

Because Jeff had somewhat tenuous relationships with the board, he encouraged Paul to meet one-on-one with each board member outside the meeting with a specific agenda. The agenda they crafted would give him perspective on who the most influential board members were, how the board operated, their priorities and goals for the business, and what they expected of him over the next 1, 3, 5 years. Asking these questions 1-1 and being open to the input created a high level of mutual respect and an understanding of the contributions of all involved.

Jeff also insisted that Paul attend the monthly board meetings and gave him targeted responsibilities, such as presenting the ‘state of the business’ and addressing key sales and operational challenges. He had him join the ‘Sales’ committee to more deeply understand how the board influenced the growth of the business. It gave Paul an opportunity to hear the conversations, learn who’s who in the community, and work with several key board members in a small group setting.

Within six months, Paul had established himself as a credible leader for the business, with the commitment of the full board to help him accomplish the business goals.

Transferring Strong Relationships in Your Business

How can you leverage this story to help your successor begin to build strong relationships with outside constituents?

• Share the history, value and purpose of the external constituent relationship to the company and to you as the owner. Identify reasons the relationship will be valuable to your successor too. Just remember, the value equation might be different for your successor. For example, you may have received value by the addition of complementary skill sets, such as strategic planning or accountability. Your successor may receive value from the networks the outside constituent may bring and their ability to tee up referrals.
• Give your successor a sense of the person -- and relationship -- their personality, priorities, nuances, challenges you’ve encountered in the past, etc..
• Provide targeted assignments to move the relationships forward. Paul was given responsibilities to present, join a committee, etc.. and that enabled the outside constituents to see him perform, learn his priorities and working style and assess ways to support him.
• Insist upon 1-1 meetings between your successor and key outside constituents so they can get to know each other without you in the mix. These meetings should have a planned agenda that your successor creates with input from you. Craft the agenda to ensure the relationships get built through the lens of the business. Don’t just suggest a round of golf. Go golf, but with a set of intentional topics to discuss.
• Be available to your successor to debrief from meetings to coach them on what they are learning from these meetings and how to use those learnings to be a stronger leader.

Paul was fortunate that Jeff was willing to set him up for a successful relationship with the Advisory Board. Because Jeff’s relationship had always been tenuous, it could have been easy for him to taint Paul’s experience of the board. Instead, he focused on what was best for Paul, the business and the board.

By proactively assessing the most important relationship transfers, you can establish a runway for your successor. And by the way, it’s not a bad idea to use the bullets above to strengthen your own partnerships … and while you’re at it, why not expand this concept and invite more of your team to expand their external relationships – customers, suppliers, referral partners. It’s usually a win for your business and a win for your partners.

Who are you going to connect with today?

How Great Managers Engage Great Employees

Being a great manager or owner isn’t simply about you and your team performing well. Being a great manager is about engaging with your employees and helping them want to perform well. It is no secret that employees who are happy in the workplace tend to perform better. But those same employees who perform better will also likely care not only about their own performance but the performance of the company as well. So the question still begs, how do I, the manager, engage with my employees to help them grow into caring and dedicated individuals? Here a few ways to get started. Add these to your managerial to-do list and watch your employees engage:

Communication is key. Communicating with your employees regularly is the most important way to connect with them. Whether it be in person, on the phone, or by email your employees will value the fact that you are taking the time to help them learn, grow and improve the business.

Life is not all about work. Your employees have lives outside of the workplace, and so do you. While you don’t have to be best friends, it is a great idea to know at least some things about your employees’ lives. Talking about more than just work will help them to see you as a person and not just their boss.

Let the positive shine through. Providing positive feedback to your employees instead of only acknowledging the negative will help them learn what is important to you, what you want from them, and how they can exceed your expectations. All of that will increase their effectiveness in the workplace. Dwelling on the negative will only make your employees feel worthless and unhappy, when they should feel like an asset to your company.

Be clear with what you want. Employees will struggle if they are unsure of what they are supposed to be doing to move the organization forward. Setting clear goals and expectations will help to keep your employees from getting frustrated and worried about disappointing you.

There is so much more you could do to engage with your employees to make them feel comfortable and happy in the workplace. Trying out these four strategies is a great basis for creating a foundation for employee engagement.

Being The Bearer Of The News

You’ve finally decided to take the plunge – you’ve sold your business and have planned to exit. Congratulations. This is an exciting time in your life, full of new opportunities. But as excited and as busy as you may be with this new transition, don’t forget that you have one important hurdle left. How do you tell your employees that you are leaving your business? Unfortunately, this could turn into an awkward conversation that can potentially stir up a lot of emotions. Your employees may feel betrayed by your leaving, be fearful of the new owner, or even become worried about their job security. Their concerns are legitimate, and it is your job to take care of your company before you leave it.

As difficult as it may feel to have this conversation, it’s imperative to plan for it and do it well. The best exit conversations include a frank and honest conversation about why you are leaving, how and when you are leaving, the impact of the transition on them, and expresses your confidence in them and the future of the company under new ownership. Most employees will appreciate a transparent conversation and the fact that you are focused on the long term stability and growth of the business and have considered their key concerns.

It might be tempting to paint the picture you want them to believe, but it’s more important to be direct and to be honest. Don’t sugarcoat the tough parts. Don’t let your body language betray you – stay calm and keep eye contact. Being kind and honest will ease breaking the news.

Explain your choices and allow time and space for questions, discussion or even grieving. This could feel like a loss for your employees. Allow them time to work through that. Recognize that for you, this decision has been in process for some time, but for most of your employees, it is new news. They may initially feel angry, confused or worried. Remember that direct, honest and transparent doesn’t mean you need to share everything with them. Answering any questions they may have, either about you or the future of the business, will help to ease the inevitable transition. Knowledge is power, and the more your employees know the more comfortable they will be. That being said, your personal information and details of the sale may be confidential. If you get questions that are confidential, it’s ok to explain that the details of the sale are confidential and then share what you can to address their real concern or question.

Last but not least, do not forget to keep the focus on the future! Your employees and the company will continue without you. It is up to you whether or not they will thrive. Make it a point to tell them what you hope for the business in the future and brainstorm ways they can keep your legacy alive.

Leaving a business is never easy, and it is even harder if you love the business and deeply care for your employees. Even when the time is right, exiting is a significant change. Being honest and compassionate with your employees will give them the respect they deserve and will help ease the transition for all of you.