Family affair: Lessons on leading employees (who are also family)

By Mike Sipple Sr.

Forty-five years in business is not only a milestone I never envisioned being fortunate enough to enjoy, but also one that serves as a testament to a life well-lived, backed by faith —  faith in a spiritual sense, but also in both my business and the practices that have gotten me to where we are today. Having the dual responsibility of leading a team, which also includes family members, can be a test and challenge for any business owner.

Now that my son is leading both of our organizations, Centennial Inc. Talent Strategy & Executive Search and Talent Magnet Institute, we know leading employees who are also family requires an additional level of care.

In 1975, I became the first employee of Centennial, which was founded by Jim and Mary Morris, a husband and wife team. After Mr. Morris’ passing in 1980, the company required a new leader. Despite my suggestion that there were other employees both more deserving and capable, I was named president.

Having my son follow in my footsteps was never my intent, nor his; his plan was to start his own landscaping business after college. However, he joined us as an intern (more of a favor to us) to help build computers and develop our website — tasks neither I nor my wife, who handles accounting and back office work, were able or wanted to tackle ourselves.

Through this, my son’s interest in the business grew. Eventually, an outside advisor independently asked me, “Have you thought of making Mike Jr. a recruiter?” I had not. After asking him, he agreed, eventually becoming one of our top recruiters. As my son’s career continued to evolve, I, despite helping clients with succession planning, found myself at the age of 57 without a plan for myself or the company. I asked my son if he might be interested in embarking on the 10-year journey to becoming president. Saying “yes,” the transition became official in 2015.

Succession planning is filled with plenty of detours and challenges for any business, but especially those involving family. I learned a lot of lessons along the way — one of which is when leading family, you must be prepared to tackle your emotions in an honest, constructive manner.

I highly recommend working with outside advisors through this process. We worked with the Goering Center for Family and Private Business at the University of Cincinnati, and thank goodness we did. I have been told I tend to lead with my heart and my son leads with his head. Having an outside advisor helped us find the balance between the two and kept the process healthy. It also enabled us to ensure our goals and values were in tune, even when our methods might be different. In doing so, we avoided the pitfall of creating an unhealthy family dynamic that could hurt our bond, the business and our non-family team members.

My wife and I never pushed our son into the business. Instead, we provided him with opportunities to gain exposure to it while encouraging his development in the areas he enjoyed or showed interest in. That is not to suggest he did not have to prove himself; he did many times, more so than other employees. Each promotion was acknowledged only after he had gone above and beyond to prove he earned them, with confirmations coming from fellow team members and advisors.

Through the coaching we received with the Goering Center, I was reminded to always take a step back to be objective about every interaction with my son and wife in the workplace. I recall a disagreement where I was asked if I was speaking as Centennial’s CEO, the business owner, or Mike Jr.’s dad. Being made aware of those multiple “hats” significantly improved not only my leadership with my son, but Centennial as a whole.

This also applied when I realized my wife had not yet been involved in the succession process — in leaving her out, I was ignoring a vital component of both our family and the business. From then on, I wasn’t just periodically checking in with my son on whether or not he felt this process was working well — I also had to ensure my wife and his wife were a part of the ongoing process.

Thus, in managing family members who are also employees, I compare myself to a craftsman with a three-legged stool — one leg is my wife and me; another my son and his wife (or any other family members in the business); the third is the business/team members outside of the family. If one leg is broken, the other two will suffer and the stool will topple over. A good craftsman not only builds all three well, they make sure they have a solid foundation to sit upon for years to come.

Mike Sipple Sr. is the chairman & CEO of Centennial Inc. and co-founder of the Talent Magnet Institute. Reach Mike at mike@centennialinc.com or 513-366-3762.

Centennial Inc. is a Goering Center core member, and the Goering Center is sharing this content as part of its monthly newsletter, which features core member articles.