Leadership transitions

Family Business: How to Spot a Problem Patriarch

Beware the hard-charging alpha leader who undermines talent and maintains control over the next generation.

by

Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

by

Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

July 24, 2013

Sometimes it’s the most successful leaders who sow the seeds for the downfall of a family business.

JB

Josh Baron is a cofounder and a partner at BanyanGlobal Family Business Advisors and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. He is a co-author of The Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021). Rob Lachenauer is a cofounder and the CEO of BanyanGlobal. He is a co-author of The Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook (Harvard Business Review Press, 2021).

Partner Center