Succession planning and leadership development are two sides of an integrated whole that is essential for companies that seek to fully leverage employee ownership and achieve long-term sustainability.

This article written by Ginny Vanderslice was published in the ESOP Association’s ESOP Report, August 2021.Many of us are breathing a sigh of relief for, we hope, successfully navigating the pandemic and in many cases coming out of it stronger than before.

This presentation by Ginny Vanderslice and Bob Dill was part of the National Center for Employee Ownership's Virtual Fall Forum conference in September, 2021.

First, Pfeffer makes some important points in this about which we would agree. He makes a case, early in the book, that if all you are doing is teaching people "leadership" concepts such as "tell the truth," "be authentic," etc. and even skills then the leadership training won't be successful.

On January 9, 2021 Ginny Vanderslice moderated a virtual panel at the 2021 Mid-Year Fellows Workshop in Honor of Louis O. Kelso at the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit.

The current health and economic crises pose challenges no company has faced before. Unimaginable stresses to an organization's infrastructure, finances, cash flow, and employee owners all can tax leaders at the moment their organizations need them most.

Effective boards make a significant contribution to their company’s success. However, in many cases, employee owners do not understand why their organization has a board, what the board does, what kinds of decisions the board makes, and, ultimately, how their board adds value.

When leaders and managers have strong leadership skills and when those skills extend to more people in an organization, a company’s ability to manage internal and external challenges is enhanced, and unanticipated changes in personnel can be managed with minimal disruption.

Effective ESOP leadership is different than effective leadership in companies with more traditional ownership structures. The opportunities are greater and so are the challenges. Leaders in all companies need the basics of business acumen, strategic perspective, market awareness, and the ability to develop and communicate a compelling vision.

An ESOP can be an effective tax-advantaged means of creating shareholder liquidity. At the same time, the ESOP provides an additional benefit for employees. But the ongoing payoff of the ESOP is based on its ability to align stakeholder interests.