Leadership Lessons: When a Company has to Lead without Its Leader
When DGC CEO Sam DiGennaro found out she had a brain tumor and needed emergency surgery, we never could have imagined what would come next for our fearless leader.
In a personal essay for AdAge titled Here's What I Learned When My Company Had to Lead Without Me, Sam reveals her harrowing experience and the lessons that emerged as she was forced to hand off day-to-day operations to her leadership team to prioritize her personal health.
Over a two-month period in and out of the hospital, the concerns she had about clients feeling abandoned or leaving without access to her slowly dissipated. Sam realized that she had been preparing for years for an unexpected moment like this.
In Sam's own words:
"I had intentionally invested in developing future leaders, bringing them into client meetings, strategic conversations, business development, and operations. I transferred client relationships, not just responsibilities. At agency-wide meetings, I explained decision-making frameworks, financial priorities, and company values, so employees understood what we did and our 'why.' I shared context with nuance and specificity, investing in talent, developing skills, and ultimately preparing for the unexpected, without really knowing."
HOW FOUNDERS CAN LEAD THROUGH THE UNEXPECTED
Her advice is clear and succinct for other business owners who may be concerned about how the company they've spent decades building will survive in similar circumstances:
Do not wait for a crisis to begin succession planning. Ask whether your company could keep making thoughtful decisions if you were unreachable tomorrow.
Expose future leaders to parts of the business they do not currently see. Context creates confidence. If people only receive instructions, they will wait for instructions. If they understand your “why” behind decisions, they can begin making their own.
Intentionally transfer relationships. Clients should trust the organization, not just the founder. Empowerment is something you practice until the team believes it, and until you believe it too.
To read Sam's article, go to AdAge.
