For a successful business succession, don't sleep on mentorship

Grooming the next generation of leaders is an integral part of a family business, or any other closely held business. A significant portion of the “IP” of the business resides in the current leadership’s brain. Transferring that knowledge to the next generation of leaders is crucial — but that’s easier said than done. In my work as a family business consultant, I have witnessed, time and time again, broken mentor-mentee relationships. 

The most common reason these relationships break down (or fail to achieve lift off) is the generational divide. Perhaps now more than ever, the generations see the world very differently. The younger generation — specifically millennials arriving at the age where they are nearing a leadership position — treat work much differently than do Gen X and the Baby Boomers. Millennials crave work/life balance and lean on technology to replace some of the old ways of doing things. For many older leaders, this is anathema. They tend to view success as the result of hard work and “putting in the time.” Neither view is wrong, but the divide can sink a business. If you are a mentor or mentee and you find yourself looking over the edge of this divide, here are some strategies to get the relationship back on track.