Next: A Peer Advisory Group for Future Business Leaders and Owners

Next is a structured peer advisory group consisting of 8-12 members who are or will be assuming greater leadership roles in management and/or ownership of their family business. Groups are carefully formed to include successor generation members from non-competing companies, who share similar roles and responsibilities.

Discussion topics are tailored to the group’s interests and may include:

• Recognizing the stages of change the senior manager-owner will go through to transition management and ownership
• Recognizing the unique aspects of each transition situation and the readiness of the senior manager-owner to talk about transition
• Identifying the likely vision, values, needs, and goals the senior generation holds around transition, and discuss how this information can be obtained, confirmed, clarified
• Identifying your vision, values, needs, and goals regarding the business, you and your family, and others expected to be significantly involved in any transition
• Assessing the existing systems used for decision making and interactions and how those systems will serve the expected interests of the senior owner-manager and your interests
• Understanding the roles and responsibilities of managers, owners, and family and how these groups work together in the context of a business transition situation
• Identifying how the interests of the owners and the business are balanced and the challenges of transferring the role of “balancer” in the context of your likely business transition situation
• Assessing the your skills, strengths, and passions relative to the business
• Understanding and examining how your strengths and passions align with your leadership goals and identify opportunities and necessary improvements and/or experiences to reach leadership position
• Discuss the role you might play in defining and advancing the transition process

Facilitators:

 Justin S. Anderson, Psy.D., L.P.

Dr. Justin Anderson specializes in individual, family, and relational dynamics. He primarily works with business owners, executives, and families of wealth. He obtained his Doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.  Justin has coached many multi-generational, privately-held businesses and families with wealth who were engaged in a transition, immersed with conflict, or interested in developing a healthier governance structure. He has been cited in a number of professional publications (most recently the FFI Practitioner) and can be found presenting at both local and national conferences and organizations (Presenting at the North Dakota Prairie Family Business Conference in September, 2011 and at the Family Firm Institute International Conference in October, 2011). Justin is also an active member of the Upper-Midwest Family Business Advisor Group and the St. Thomas Center for Family Enterprise.

Katy Mitchell, M.A.

Katy Mitchell is a consultant at Leadership Transitions, Inc. and specializes in helping closely held businesses transition by working with individuals and teams on leadership, communication, and interpersonal dynamics.  She is passionate about helping the next generation of leaders build skills and confidence to make valuable and positive contributions to their organizations. Katy holds a Master’s of Counseling Psychology from the University of St. Thomas. She has completed a training program with the Coaches Training Institute, is a qualified administrator of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Instrument, and is certified in the California Psychological Inventory.  She also serves as the VP of Programs for Minnesota Professionals for Psychology Applied to Work and is actively involved in the Upper Midwest Family Business Advisory Group.

Group Meets Monthly: September through June, except December

Location: