The decision to bring an external managing director into one's own company requires a change in the owner's leadership style. Some time ago, one of our client companies made this decision—with the best of intentions and a catastrophic outcome!
The owner of a medium-sized company hired a managing director for a new subsidiary for the first time and relinquished the usual executive position himself. He had decided to do so for a variety of reasons and postulated that competence and responsibility are inextricably linked. The new hire could and should manage his area of responsibility independently.
This sounded interesting to the "new guy." He had gained experience in a secondary role at a larger competitor and now wanted to take on overall responsibility.
Development is a leadership task—even at the very top
After a few months, the new managing director was confronted with a rather trivial problem. A customer had specific price expectations, and he mentioned it to the owner in passing during a meeting. He was immediately given a lecture on how such "little problems" are solved "around here." And the boss demonstrated it to the managing director right away: call the customer, negotiate, done!
The classic: Mister Fix-it! And over the next few months, this trend continued steadily. The managing director would report on how he wanted to do something, and Mister Fix-it would strike again. Of course, with the best of intentions, as he was simply solving the task in the interest of the company.
The owner undermined his managing director by the book. In the circle of management and the advisory board, he liked to regularly recount that he had to show the managing director how it's done again, that he obviously didn't know, wasn't an entrepreneur, and still had a lot to learn.
Unreflected behavior takes its toll—preparation and clarity
The owner opened the first shareholders' meeting by saying he didn't know why the company even had a managing director if he had to do everything himself. Even the customers were now calling him about price negotiations! The CFO in attendance then had the task of explaining the—naturally poor—results in the managing director's area of responsibility. And once again, Mister Fix-it did not explain what he expected as an owner, but rather how things were to be done.
The new hire now did what he had learned in his previous jobs: stay in the background, take orders, and keep his ideas to himself. Well-paid, he buried his head in the sand and did the bare minimum. He had long since buried his hopes for the new job. The owner, on the other hand, complained to the advisory board: "It's strange, the new guy started off so well and now this!"
In our consulting projects, we repeatedly see how poorly prepared owners and managing partners are when they want to change leadership constellations. THE MAK'ED TEAM takes into account all aspects required for successful change, especially in organizational, growth, and restructuring projects. Our external perspective naturally makes it easier for us to address such sensitive topics in advance. Early and appreciative discussions about the owner's role, which changes as a result of their own decisions, help to find the right solution and avoid disappointment.
In our portfolio, you will find more on organizational development and personnel management.
.png)
.png)