In November last year, I consulted on a project with a large international accounting firm. This was not a family business effort. However, as I went through it, I often thought about the rising gen family members I have worked with over the years.
The accounting firm was taking care of bench strength and succession. This was being done by way of current senior partners identifying high potential up and coming managers within the ranks. The human resource department had designed the Protégé Program, and 29 participants had been selected to participate. They were geographically from different parts of the United States and from different functional service areas within the firm.
These protégés would hopefully aspire to and eventually become partners several years into the future. Once committed to the 18-to-24-month program, the development activities began. First on the list was a 360-degree feedback assessment. What is that you might ask? Well, in the larger corporate world, it is well known. 360s are frequently used as leadership development tools. They are also applicable to and have been used in family enterprises.
360-degree feedback, also called multisource or multi-rater feedback or 360 review, is an assessment method that gathers input from various sources all around an employee about strengths and areas for improvement.
It comprises ratings and feedback from internal stakeholders who have a close working relationship with the person being rated. External stakeholder feedback can also be included. The person being rated selects raters and requests their participation. Ratings are anonymous and more raters make for more reliable results. Self-assessment is part of the process and then comparisons are made with the other ratings.
The 360 tool that was selected by the HR department asked for input from superiors, peers, direct reports and clients. The broad competency categories to be examined were:
Leading Self: Focuses on intra-personal dynamics, including emotional control and resilience.
Leading Others: Emphasizes inter-personal dynamics, such as teamwork and conflict resolution.
Leading the Organization: Addresses broader organizational competencies like strategic thinking and external awareness.
Leading Implementation: Concentrates on execution-related skills, including effectiveness and planning.
Then within each category, there were seven supporting competency areas with questions that raters scored on a scale of one to five. With all that rater input and perspective, my job was to offer a useful interpretation of the data to each of 14 proteges from the group (another consultant had the other 15). The goal was to recognize and validate known strengths, point out hidden strengths, look for blind spots, point to recurring themes and define areas for improvement.
It turned out to be an enjoyable engagement because each of the participants was receptive and quite eager to hear the findings. Naturally, during our sessions, there were opportunities for me to insert a bit of coaching to prime the pump. After the feedback, proteges would work with an internal mentor/coach to put together a more specific tailored development plan.
Family enterprises are notorious for being feedback deserts, “unless you do something wrong,” as many successors have told me.
Well, there are 360 tools designed for family enterprises that can help with that.
Well-informed feedback from multiple sources can uniquely contribute to an individual’s professional and personal development. Offering insights into being more successful in their current job role and achieving long-term career goals. But just like with the accounting firm proteges, rising generation family members must be open and receptive to the feedback and to the coaching. Holding this kind of mirror up to oneself is not easy. It is not just about combing your hair. Some defensiveness and resistance are to be expected but if those are prominent it is not a good sign.
Two years ago, on a first to second generation succession consult with dad and three sons, the oldest son Bob, VP of sales, had expectations to be dad's successor. However, there was lots of tension and concern about his performance even after 13 years with the company.
The complaints and issues were being raised, not only by his brothers and dad, but by his direct reports and others in the company that he dealt with. Some areas of concern were disengagement, moodiness, acting like a two year old, absence from the office, lack of follow through, entitlement, favoritism, resistance to learning all necessary business technology, etc.
At the same time, many people in the organization viewed Bob as an excellent salesperson, great at customer engagement, good lead generator, and idea guy with broad industry knowledge.
After several meetings, Bob and dad agreed that his promotion to Vice President had been hasty and primarily happened because dad caved into his son's pressure for a more important title.
I also had several meetings individually with Bob about what he might do to better his situation. With some coaxing, he finally agreed to a 360 approach to gather feedback he could use to try and improve. Bob further reasoned that such information would prove to be positive and, in his favor, showing that he “wasn't as bad as everyone thought.”
This was not the ideal situation for a 360 because there was already considerably negative light being shown on Bob. However, I thought that more objective data from multiple sources in a structured process would be beneficial to us all.
Here are the things Bob defined that he wanted to learn from the 360.
Do I listen?
Am I a good coworker personally and professionally?
Is there value in the vice president of sales job?
Am I a leader in their eyes?
Leadership skills and potential that they may observe in me.
Am I trustworthy?
Do I share helpful knowledge and information?
What 1-3 things could I do better at?
What things should I stop doing?
What do I need to do more of?
Do I make them feel important?
What is my main problem, and if I did, X, Y, or Z would it make it better?
The 360 data very much confirmed the anecdotal information, both positive and negative. Despite all my attempts to make the process useful as a development tool for this 37-year-old potential successor, and despite his participation in the design of what he wanted to learn, he dismissed or rejected most of the information that pointed to his weaknesses.
In actuality, if we used a grading system of A, B, C, or D, as an overall summation he would have received a C. Eventually, I referred Bob to another leadership coach, and over time, there have been some improvements.
Bob has much to contribute to his family business but really needed to be in a different role. Ultimately, his role was changed so that he is now more of an independent contributor with limited or no management responsibilities. Will he be the successor? I doubt it, but he will be a contributor to success of the business.
Some takeaways from this story are:
Seeking outside assistance sooner than later usually makes for better results
Promoting a family member should be about capability and performance, not tenure, love, the glow of the title, etc
360 multi rater tools are useful for development of self-awareness and self-management
Change in an individual is seldom immediate, it can take time and persistence
Preferably, development initiatives are used separate from performance and accountability evaluations
Being open to different roles in the family business can help find the right fit
As we all know, when possible, reporting to someone other than a parent is a better choice
An individual's coachability is critical to professional growth
I have previously written about the importance of self-awareness and self-management. Self-management can be considered a work and life competency in and of itself. Being curious about and questioning oneself are the starting points for awareness. No matter how we look at self-management it is a life-long journey. Being mindful, asking for and graciously receiving feedback will be worth it. A 360 approach is just one of many helpful tools available.
If you have an interest just Google -360 development tools for family business.
Also, here are two that are worth exploring.
Lastly, here is a quick 8-point check on assessing your coachability…
Which of these are true and to what extent?
I usually allow my coach/manager/supervisor and others to complete their sentences before responding. (If you don’t, it’s not a good sign.)
When I’m given feedback/critique, I usually think about it before responding, waiting just a bit; Capitalizing on the ‘powerful pause’. (If you don’t, you’re likely not giving it real consideration.)
When I’m given feedback/critique, I rarely find myself defending a position or action immediately. (If this is true, you’re probably trying to really learn how you can improve.)
When I’m given feedback/critique, I ask questions about it in order try to better understand it. (A good sign.)
I feel my work’s purpose is to serve my external customers. (”You’re gonna have to serve somebody.”– Bob Dylan)
I feel my work’s purpose is to serve my internal customers (managers, colleagues, other departments).
I’ve changed/revised my position/approach because of the advice of another individual. (If not, how coachable do you really think you are? No one is always right.)
My manager/supervisor invests time in my professional development (If s/he doesn’t, it might be because of a perception that you’re un-coachable).
Soon,
Ron
Ronald C. Reece, Ph.D. is a Consulting Psychologist who specializes in Family and Closely Held Business Consulting.
He can be found at:800 E. Washington St., Ste-CGreenville, SC 29601Phone 864-233-6648 fax (864) 233-3706,email reeceassc@aol.comwebsite www.ronreece.com
