In the fall of 2021, the FBI finally caught up with Andrew Russo, head of the Colombo mafia family in New York. Having led the “family business” with a disciplined, hands-on management style for years, the 87-year-old had started to get sloppy. He had begun to ignore his own best practices, using insecure communication to directly involve himself in criminal activity. His associates had known about his problems for years, but he would not listen to suggestions that it might be time to step aside for the next generation of leadership. Of course, they all paid for his mistakes when Russo was arrested.
When the Head of a Family Business Is Impaired — and Won’t Step Down
It can be hard to tell a leader that they aren’t capable anymore. It’s even harder when they’re family.
April 21, 2022
Dean Mitchell/Getty Images
Summary.
An aging leader may not be as strong or fast they used to be but is capable and functional in most areas. An impaired leader makes bad decisions and mistakes, misses opportunities, doesn’t follow through on commitments, and otherwise displays behaviors and attitudes that are inappropriate for their position of power, negatively impacting the people and the business. Pushing out an impaired senior leader who is one of the owners can be tricky, especially when they have a controlling ownership stake and don’t acknowledge that impaired judgment. Through their extensive work with family businesses all over the world, the authors have identified several strategies to help family members (even those who don’t yet have formal authority in the business) cope with an impaired leader to avoid further damaging the company — and the family — in the process.