Legacy Isn’t Leadership: Raising Next-Gen Family Members To Earn the Throne   

7/16/2025

By Mary Rizzuti

Raising leaders in a family business isn’t about inheritance. It’s about earning trust in a legacy that never clocks out. While corporate leaders navigate strategy, succession, and performance, family office leaders face those same challenges with the added complexity of generational continuity. The bar isn’t lower for the next generation; it’s often higher. Children in the business are expected to prove themselves not only to the board but also to the family and to the staff who have watched them grow up. And when your direct reports are also your children, every performance review carries the weight of a holiday dinner.  

Unlike corporate successors who are hired into a role, family successors are often raised to lead. They’re not promised a seat; they’re expected to rise to it. Think of Shiv Roy, from Succession, constantly tested by her father’s shifting standards, or Jon Snow, from Game of Thrones, who led not because of his name but in spite of it.   

Helping next-gen leaders develop the competence, confidence, and clarity to lead without being consumed by the weight of legacy is the true work of succession.   

What Works  

1. Expose Them to the Real Work Early - Let them sweep the floors, sit in on tough meetings, and experience the grind and difficult decisions. Rotating them through departments builds respect from employees and gives them credibility.  
2. Create Safe Zones for Failure - Give them projects where they can fail without catastrophic consequences. To build resilience, humility, and openness to feedback, debrief with empathy rather than judgment.  

What Doesn’t Work  

1. Don’t Crown Them Too Soon - Handing over a title without experience breeds resentment from your staff, and a lack of skill can be viewed as incompetence.  
2. Don’t Use Guilt or Entitlement as a Motivator - “You owe it to the family” is not a leadership development strategy. It’s emotional blackmail. Not all children want to become future leaders in the family business, and a successful organization still requires employees — regardless of family ties — to be inspired to lead and scale.  

The In-N-Out CEO started learning the ropes at 17 by slicing onions. Today, she runs not because she inherited a title, but because she earned the trust to lead. That’s the difference between legacy and longevity. In family businesses, succession isn’t just a plan; it’s a process that starts years before a title is handed over. When done right, it creates resilient leaders and enduring brands. When mishandled, it breeds confusion, resentment, and chaos. Just ask the Roys of Succession, where power was passed like a grenade with the pin pulled.  

The truth? Family successors often face higher expectations than their corporate peers. They must prove themselves to the business, the family, and sometimes, to themselves. The challenge isn’t just preparing them to lead; it’s helping them want to. 

Curious what separates the dynasties that thrive from the ones that implode? Let’s talk.