Page 78 - Lighting Magazine December 2019

Conquering conflict
“Many of the most successful new leaders I’ve encountered have started out in the warehouse and at the counter.” —Rich Schmitt, Schmitt
Consulting Group
type of arrogant and/or uninformed attitude cre- ates a terrible atmosphere for the rest of the team. Sometimes it’s so bad that it will actually ruin the business.”
Instead, Schmitt strongly believes in the tradi- tional mentoring process when bringing the next generation into the business. The mentoring doesn’t necessarily have to come from a parent; often non- family executives are a better choice.
“Many of the most successful new leaders I’ve en- countered have started out in the warehouse and at the counter,” he recalls. “It’s important for them to see what all of the employees do on a daily basis and learn the business from the ground up. I’m a proponent of having kids work at McDonalds or a similar entry-level job for a while. It’s a great learning experience for anyone. They’ve got rules, schedules, managers, training etc., that are a part of most jobs.
“At the same time, I have seen some very unhappy people over the years who felt like they were forced into joining or taking over the family business. I en- courage parents to groom their children along the way for the business — but then give them a choice of whether they want to make it their career,” he says.
Schmitt believes that clear communications — and what he terms “interactive stream of consciousness coaching” — are significant factors in avoiding issues between family members.
“When you’re operating above board, have
outlined expectations and objective measurements, there is very little room for miscommunication,” he explains. “That is enhanced when you are in tune with all the activities of your team and provide them with open feedback. If there is an issue, you can’t wait until a review or a board meeting to tell some- one they’re not meeting your standards.
“Ultimately, you want everyone around you to operate in an ongoing discussion mode to keep tensions from boiling over. I believe most people want to do a good job. If they don’t know what the expectations are, they may be working their tails off, but incorrectly,” he warns.
The question of who should be the leader is often a decision family-owned businesses must tackle, and the results can create hard feelings if not handled correctly.
“Most parents love all their children equally so it can be very difficult for them to pick one over the other,” he remarks. “There is so much to navigate when selecting and then announcing the new lead- ership, an outside consultant can be very beneficial. A third party can test various skillsets and make recommendations that parents might not see. It also decreases potential repercussions by removing the personal aspect and being able to blame on the consultant.
“That said, it is almost always obvious how leadership should be divided among siblings,” he comments. “There is typically one who is the right fit to lead the company, and the other siblings usually have their own talent sets that then fill other posi- tions within the organization.”
No matter who the conflict is with or between, Schmitt recommends these actions to help ensure constructive human interactions both family and non-family:
➥ Activelylisten.Takenotes.Makeeyecontact. Pay attention to their body language.
➥ Ifyou’reonthephone,letthemknowyou’re taking notes and listen carefully to their tone of voice.
➥ Summarizewhatyouheardwithastatement like “I understand I/we did this wrong.”
➥ Askhowtheywouldsuggesttheproblembe solved.
➥ Layoutaplanofactionandfollowit.Do what you say you’re going to do to gain/regain credibility.
➥ Besincere.
74 enLIGHTenment Magazine | DeceMber 2019
www.enlightenmentmag.com