We’ve written quite a few times in the past about the power of peer advisory groups. In fact, we’re so convinced that peer groups are an incredible tool for lifting your family-owned business to the next level that we joined our own peer group of peer group providers! Some of the content they produce is really quite remarkable.
One blog in particular from our friends at HTG Peer Groups caught our eye. Rich Anderson, an HTG consultant, produced an article “Leadership Lessons From my Mother-in-Law’s 80th Birthday.” It is a remarkable article for two reasons. First, it teaches some valuable lessons about family business leadership. Second, it emphasizes a unique, infrequently discussed aspect of leadership: situational leadership. No leader, not even the greatest among us, is cut out to lead in all situations. For example, take a 60-year-old family owned business executive who happens along the scene of a traffic accident with some badly injured people. Unless he is trained in emergency services or trauma medicine, he is unlikely to be of much value. An emergency medical technician on the other hand, a person who might not be considered to be leadership material in another aspect of life, is much more likely to arrive, take charge, demonstrate decisive leadership, and add value to the situation. That’s what we mean by situational leadership; sometimes the person who is a terrific business leader is the wrong person to chart direction in a family or other context.
Birthday Cake

Rich’s article makes some excellent points on why leadership is important, and he illustrates them with crystal clear examples. Some of his points include:

  1. Few lead, many follow. It just takes a few (or one) intentional leader willing to delegate to make        great things happen
  2. Clear central focus. Leadership – create a clear central focus around which a team executes
  3. Personal sacrifice. Leadership – personal sacrifice borne out of love
  4. Build your brand. Leadership – build a brand and core values, and pass them on to the next            generation of leaders. Not much else matters

The article is well worth your time. You can click here to read it in its entirety. If you are an IT company interested in an HTG peer group, their website is here.