If you want to improve your family and business relationships, Tom Hubler’s Top 10 Common Concerns and Obstacles in Succession Planning is for you. These common concerns and obstacles are applicable for every business owner. Have you ever expressed yourself poorly? My hand is raised. Hear Tom’s wise perspective on communicating in a positive way. DOWNLOAD

Tom Hubler’s Top 10 Common Concerns and Obstacles in Succession Planning

(The Top 10 list idea came from the prior late-night talk show host, David Letterman.)

10      Poor expression of feelings and wants. Being able to express feelings and wants are an integral part of healthy relationships. Tom discusses The Collaborative Team Skills program which he says is the best program in the country. You learn how to communicate in a positive way that builds emotional connections. You will also learn five ways to breakdown an issue using his Information Wheel: sensory data, what you think (meaning making), how you are feeling (recognizing feeling), vulnerability, and learning to tell people what you want. Practicing specific areas on the Information Wheel to break down issues for clarity is a key to resolving conflict and clearly stating your feelings and describing what you want.

9        Differences seen as a liability rather than an asset. Successful family businesses see differences as an asset.

8        Indirect communication. People tend to bring in a third person, poison the well, and create more problems. Instead of triangular communication, muster up the courage to have a direct conversation. Managing from the H.E.A.R.T is what Tom teaches.

Hear and understand me.

Even if you disagree, please don’t make me wrong.

Acknowledge the greatness in each other.

Remember to look for my loving intention, I didn’t come to the office to screw up things. 

Tell me the truth with compassion (kindness, care, and respect); no judgment or blame.

7        Entitlement. The founder can be the culprit. Succession planning is associated with death or retirement. Reframe needed. Legacy planning. The last challenge of entrepreneurship. An opportunity to invest in a new mission – to pass on their legacy. Life career planning for the senior generation.

6        Scarcity. Sibling rivalry is usually about attention and love from the founder and not enough to go around. Love is expansive and not in short supply as many think. “Love makes the world go round.”

5        History. We tend to mythologize our history both positively and negatively. Take time to embrace your history and have the curiosity to examine your pain to get to the truth of your history. The reason I have guests talk about their history is to help them embrace where they have come from; to own the hurts and struggles and accomplishments and successes.

4        Other oriented regarding change. “You are the one that has to change.” Self-responsibility is important in any transition.

3        Control. Achilles heel. Part of a business owner’s success can become a failure in succession planning. Business owners need to learn to let go and allow in a new system as others take charge. Don’t let coping, inadequacy, perfectionism, pride, or stubbornness keep you from passing on a successful legacy.

2        Lack of forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there is no movement forward in a relationship and it makes for challenging family rituals. The Family Forgiveness Ritual is in Tom’s book that he refers to and you can use to help you work toward forgiveness. Mary Hayes Grieco has a workshop coming up on November 15-17, 2019 called The Wonderful Forgiveness Weekend. You can get a $50.00 WeMentor discount.

Tune in to find out the #1 common concern and obstacle in family business succession planning. You will probably be as surprised as I was with the first concern and obstacle.

WeMentor Self-Leadership Activation Exercises

After listening, do the following WeMentor Self-Leadership Exercises:

1. Gratitude: Acknowledge someone you work with closely. Let them know you appreciate how they work through conflict productively. For example, “I appreciate you, George, for how you were able to listen to me even when you were angry. You waited until I was finished and then told me what made you so angry. I now can prevent this situation from happening again. Thank you for hanging in there to understand our difficult feelings and figure out a solution that will work for both of us.”
2. Take a risk: Choose one of the Top 10 concerns and obstacles in succession planning from the list above. Assert self-leadership to overcome a concern or obstacle with others. Maybe you want to clear out indirect communication and use the H.E.A.R.T. technique Tom describes. I am doing #5 – embracing an accurate understanding of my history. (This is going to take me awhile.)
3. Self-Compassion: Identify a tender area in your heart, a wounded area. Make a note of others who are suffering or hurt in the way you have been hurt. Notice, you are not alone. Become curious of how they healed the woundedness in their heart. Decide how you would like to resolve your hurt.

Self-Leadership Mentoring Help

• Get One-On-One Mentoring during your transition. It is much easier to change when you know what is happening in your inner world. Paul Turek of Turek Consulting LLC says, “Nancy is a well-connected leadership development icon in this market… she’s got an interesting perspective on identifying and addressing leadership opportunities within oneself that is timely in our diverse and mobile workforce these days.”
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Episode 196  Tom Hubler’s Top 10 Common Concerns and Obstacles in Succession Planning   Hubler Family Business