Most parents can sense when a successor is not quite ready. Few can say exactly why. This checklist exists to turn that feeling into something you can point to: specific behaviour, in specific rooms, that either happened or did not.
It is not a score. There are no points to add up and no pass mark. A successor with seven ticks and no examples is less ready than one with four ticks and a clear example for each. What matters is the evidence you write next to each sign.
Why observe instead of rate?
Readiness to lead is rarely a question of knowledge. Most successors know the numbers well. What they often lack is authority in the room, and authority is granted by other people. That is why every sign on the sheet is about how others respond: whether decisions hold, whether senior people bring problems, whether the bank calls the successor or the founder.
There is also a practical problem. As the parent, you are rarely in the meetings that matter most. People behave differently when the founder is present, and so does the successor. Our article on why your successor goes quiet when you are in the room explains why. The checklist asks you to notice what you can see, and to admit what you cannot.
How to fill it in well
Fill it in separately first. The parent and the successor each complete their own copy. Comparing them afterwards is often more useful than either copy on its own. Where you agree, you have a shared starting point. Where you disagree, you have the first real conversation.
Use recent, specific examples. “Last Tuesday’s board meeting, the question on margins, answered in one sentence” is evidence. “Generally good with the board” is an opinion.
Leave blanks blank. If you cannot remember an example, do not invent a generous one. A blank line usually means you have not seen it, which is useful to know in itself.
Listen for the language. Section III is the quickest to check. Owner language, “we decided” rather than “my father thinks”, is one of the clearest signals of whether someone feels, and is seen as, the leader.
Treat section VII differently. The first six sections describe skills that can be practised. The last does not. A successor who has not truly decided they want the role needs an honest family conversation, not more preparation.
Common mistakes
- Scoring instead of observing. Numbers invite arguments about the number. Examples invite a conversation about what to do next.
- Judging from the founder’s chair alone. The people the successor will lead see things you do not. A few confidential stakeholder interviews, held by someone outside the family, usually show two or three clear patterns. Our article on what a stakeholder interview is covers how they work.
- Waiting for every box. Very few successors show all the signs before the handover. The useful question is whether the gaps are specific, and whether there is time to close them before the events on the calendar.
- Showing the successor only your copy. If the checklist arrives as a verdict, it will be received as one. Compare copies as equals.
For the thinking behind each sign, read the full guide on how to tell if your successor is ready. Once the gaps are clear, the Handover Charter is the place to agree what changes, and when.
