Two of my adult children sit on our leadership team and are actively competing to succeed me, which has turned our Level 10 Meetings into political theater. How do we stop this succession battle from poisoning leadership team health?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Sibling competition at the leadership table paralyzes an organization because non-family executives immediately look for cover rather than speaking honestly. When leadership team health cracks, the entire company fractures into political camps.

First, remove succession discussions completely from your weekly Level 10 Meeting. That meeting exists strictly to review the Scorecard, track Rocks, and run IDS on weekly operational issues. Succession is a long-term ownership governance issue, not a weekly tactical battle.

Second, enforce clear role separation on the Accountability Chart. Both individuals must have distinct seats with five specific roles and measurable Scorecard numbers. They must be evaluated solely on whether they GWC their seat and hit their numbers, exactly like any non-family executive. If their seats overlap or if one is auditing the other, restructure the chart immediately.

Third, establish a written family employment policy with outside counsel or an advisory board. Make it explicit that succession is decided by merit and business performance, evaluated by external advisors or independent metrics, not by who lobbies loudest.

Finally, call out posturing in real time. If a Level 10 debate devolves into sibling posturing rather than solving the root cause of an issue, stop the meeting and address the behavior directly. If they cannot put the company first, one or both must step off the leadership team.