Mentoring

A mentor is someone who has been where the other person is going. Mentoring relationships tend to be informal: conversations over lunch, a call before a difficult decision, an introduction to someone useful. The mentor shares what they learned, often through their own stories, and offers advice. There is usually no fixed programme, and the relationship can last for years.

Many successors are mentored first by the founder. That has real value: nobody knows the business better. It also has limits. Advice from a parent arrives mixed with the family relationship, and it is hard to disagree with, or to admit doubts to, the person who will hand over the company. For that reason, families often look for an outside mentor as well: a retired chief executive, a respected independent director, or a leader who took over their own family’s business. The article an outside mentor for your successor looks at how to find one and what to expect.

Mentoring or executive coaching?

The two are often used interchangeably, but they work differently. A mentor mainly shares experience and gives advice. An executive coach works in a structured way on specific behaviours, using assessment, practice and feedback, and usually for a defined period. A mentor tells the successor what worked for them. A coach helps the successor find and practise what works for them. The article executive coaching vs mentoring for successors compares the two in detail.

Why it matters for preparing a successor

Successors often describe the role as lonely. A mentor who has carried a similar weight can make it less so, and can offer perspective on decisions no course covers. Mentoring and coaching are complementary: one brings outside experience, the other builds the successor’s own habits in the rooms they have to lead.