The other day, I was in a meeting listening in to a Boardroom conversation where a couple of consultants had been invited to listen and give their views as to what strategic, organisational, governance, human resource and capital adjustments they should make as an organisation in order to propel them into the next phase of growth.

The Board was led by a highly respected Founder and who had for this initiative mentioned that they would be stepping aside to allow for the process to move along without any undue influence. As we progressed, it became clear that even as the Founder was not in the room, their presence and impact was ubiquitous (I have been waiting to use this 🫠 ) on the Board.

This reminded me of Christian Andersen’s tale ‘ The Emperor’s new clothes’ where a little child, noticing that the Emperor was without clothes, piped up and pointed that fact out. This reminded me of the blinders that WE sometimes have on, when in reverence of a leader, especially a Founder, and become afraid to tell them that the strategies that brought us this far will not get us any further.

So, in the pursuit of telling the Emperor- in this case the Board, that they are without clothes, I delve into some considerations that Founder led or inspired Boards should consider when pursuing a new direction away from ‘founderitis’:
💡 Honor the past, but do not spend time building monuments over it. Without the Founder, the organisation would not exist. How you celebrate that truth and symbolically demonstrate that it is time to elevate is important. Possibly a separate but meaningful role for the Founder with clear responsibilities & limits outlined and possibly add an independent member on the Board?
💡 Dream together, perceive the new. Do a strategy review, knowing the history and what is possible for the future. A SWOT analysis can be useful for this and in doing so, do not forget to analyse if the current culture is still revlevant;
💡 Re-draw the structure. Now that you have the strategy in place, does the organisation structure align with this new season? Structures mirror the strategy and vision bearer. Their dismantling though uncomfortable for some, may be what is needed;
💡 People matter; just like structure, your human capital needs a review, guidance, assurance and empowerment. This may take time as change and deferring to others outside the Founder may be resisted, but nothing a good change management plan will not support;
💡 Document and govern; it is time to do the boring but necessary work of reviewing policies and procedures. This entrenches the change and gives guidance for it to remain sustainable. It also produces alignment and accountability

So, our work is cut out as the little child letting the Board know that it is without clothes- however, we are going to be the candid but kind seamstresses to put it all back together 🙂
Be a little child, speak the truth but in love!