Read the case and answer the followingquestions.                                 30Marks                               

Richard Dana Associates (RDA) was brought in by the owners of afamily-owned business with complex relationship issues at a timepreceding an anticipated leadership transition. Followingindividual and group coaching sessions, RDA was able to help theleadership separate personal issues, and codify practices throughformal policies to allow the leadership group to focus on businessissues without personal complications. At the end of RDA'sengagement, the client was well-positioned to begin developing atransition plan.

Bob, founder, CEO, and owner of a 20-year-old, closely-heldbusiness, hoped to groom his 30-year-old son, Jack to take over thebusiness in the next five years. The firm was currently co-run byBetty, the COO and Operations Manager. She was a longtime employeeof the firm, and also had been Bob's life partner for most of thattime. Both Jack and the firm were at a critical juncture, if Jackand the firm did not make a mutual commitment to each other in thenext year or so, Jack would likely pursue alternative careeroptions, closing a window of opportunity. And yet Jack was notprivy to many of the decisions and financials underlying thecompany information that would allow him to make an objectivedecision about his future role in the firm and no plan existed tomanage the transition. Jack and Bob's personal relationship hadgrown estranged, and both prone to intense emotional responses towork and personal issues. In addition, Betty felt that Jack did notaccord her appropriate respect in her role as COO, and wastherefore concerned about her professional future as COO underJack's leadership; she was also anxious that any transition besmooth to enable her continued personal relationship with Bob, theowner. The emotionally-charged relationships between the three keyplayers resulted in both personal and professionalcommand-and-control conflicts, preventing the three from workingtogether to develop a smooth transition plan. Furthermore, Bob'sexistence did not reflect his stated succession plans, therebymaking relationships with Betty and Jack even more complicated.Richard Dana Associates was engaged to help bring to light theinterpersonal conflicts, to develop an action plan to bridge thecommunication gaps, and to start building the foundation for alonger-term succession.

RDA began by conducting numerous strategic interviews with thethree players - both as individuals and in groups - to identify andair both personal and professional obstacles to a smoothtransition. Each person aired their own particular concerns andarticulated their specific personal goals. Based on thesediscussions, RDA worked with the three key players to identifyconcrete goals and changes including:

• Implementing unambiguous job descriptions to clarify rolesamongst Bob, Jack, and Betty.

• Developing clear, formal, consistent policies and expectationsand following through on their application to the entire firm. BothBob and Jack had historically skirted many informal firm policies,leading to conflict with Betty and poor impressions among thestaff.

• Initiating leadership training for Bob to help him to both setlimits on Jack's unproductive behavior, but also to begin trainingJack for future leadership.

• Forcing Bob to be less laissez-faire and more pro-active ingiving Jack both a macro and micro understanding of the business sothat he might assume leadership in the desired timeframe.

• Identifying specific times for Bob and Jack to repair theirpersonal bond through everyday interactions.

• Sitting Betty and Jack down for RDA-facilitated meetings withclear agendas where they could vent, articulate underlying issues,identify the impact of their conflicts on the business, extract aworkable foundation, and craft specific goals.

• Individual coaching for Bob, Jack, and Betty to help themexamine and address their work issues objectively.

• Training in basic communication skills andrelationship-building including using non-confrontational language,setting clear business agendas for interactions, emailing meetingsummaries and assignments, objectively clarifying any differencesthat arose.

Through the course of RDA's engagement, the requisite underlyingsystems were put in place job descriptions, policies andprocedures, communication skills training, and relationshipbuilding. Jack was able to work at the firm productively. Thedysfunctional behavior had stabilized and the three were betterable to separate their business identities from their personalconflicts, and had begun working more as a team.

The benefits of their improvements spread to the rest of theorganization in the form of improved trust, increased productivity,and a less emotional work environment. By eliminating the personalobstacles, Bob and Betty were ready to envision a successionplan.

RDA facilitated additional working sessions with Bob and Betty,to focus on their personal and business priorities.

Questions:

1. Why do you think leadership succession was a problem for Bob’scompany?Justify.         
2. How do you think the initiatives implemented by RDA would havehelped Bob and Betty’s outlook towards leadershiptransition?