From legacy to leadership: Evolving purpose in family businesses.
“I know what my father stood for, but I’m not sure the rest of the team completely does.”
This was from a second-generation CEO I was speaking to recently at a family business conference.
And that line stuck with me. Why? Because it captures a quiet tension I see in so many family-run and founder-led businesses: How do you stay true to your roots and keep moving forward? How do you honour the founder’s intent - often unwritten, emotional, deeply personal - while building a business that is relevant, modern, and built for future generations?
Most founders don’t write a purpose statement. They live it. And it shows up in the early decisions:
What they said yes to
What they sacrificed
What they believed business was for
But as a company grows - across generations, geographies and new leadership, the original ‘why’ can fade into something people feel but can’t quite explain.
And that's when legacy becomes limiting. When history starts to hold the business back, not lift it forward. In my work with family businesses, I’ve seen three common traps:
Nostalgia over strategy. Founders’ values are respected, but never translated into a working purpose for today’s world.
Unspoken or uneven understanding. The leadership team might ‘get it’, but wider employees, partners, and customers often don’t.
Inherited tension. Next-generation leaders feel loyalty to the founder’s way, but are held back from expressing a purpose they can own and lead.
So how do you move from founder to future? The most successful family businesses don’t abandon their past - they build from it. They take the best of what was sacred to the founder and reshape it into a shared, strategic purpose that guides decisions, culture, and brand today.
A simple approach I use in purpose and narrative work looks like this:
Capture the founder’s beliefs and behaviours (What mattered to them? What made them different?)
Translate those into a purpose relevant to today’s context (What does the business stand for now, and why does it matter?)
Align people and plans around a future-focused story (How will this purpose show up in strategy, culture, brand and leadership?)
Done well, purpose becomes the connective tissue between generations, not a source of friction. It gives new leaders clarity. It gives employees meaning. And it gives customers something to believe in.
So let me ask: How are you keeping your founder’s legacy alive while leading your business into the future?
I’d love to hear your story – or help shape your next chapter.