The Right Pace in Leadership Development
The development of the new generation is like roasting coffee: on high heat it burns, with too little heat it stays raw. Corporate governance, family relationships, and job functions mature together at the right pace.
Transcript
Description (Instagram Reels)
In many family businesses, the adaptation process of the next generation is either rushed too much or delayed too long.
Good leadership development comes from maturing corporate governanceThe principles and mechanisms ensuring a company is governed with fairness, transparency, responsibility and accountability. These build on the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance; the four emphasised in Türkiye (there are more) are central to Orhan Erkut's work. See in glossary →, family relationships, and job functions with the right timing and the right pace. Because the issue is not only acquiring knowledge, but being able to grasp the spirit of the work.
Transcript
One of the frequent mistakes made while building the new generation's relationship with the company is failing to manage time. Either the process is run faster than necessary and the young person finds themselves in a role they have not been able to internalize, or it is delayed too long and the development opportunity is missed. I liken this process to roasting coffee.
You cannot suddenly put the coffee on high heat, it burns. And if you do not give enough heat, it stays raw. A good roast is not about burning the bean, but about revealing the character within it, the aroma, with the right timing, the right pace, and the right heat. The development of the new generation in family businesses progresses like this too.
Three areas mature together: corporate governance, family relationships, and job functions. Each of these three areas has its own rhythm and learning threshold. The issue is not only joining the company, but developing an inner discipline that can carry the weight of the role they have taken on. A young person who learns at an early age what concepts such as authority and responsibility, responsibility and accountability mean will perform their role much more naturally when they later come to the board table. One must not take this process lightly at all. I see many families who think this work can be learned through short internships or superficial experiences. But the issue is not only acquiring knowledge about that subject.
Everyone can reach knowledge today. The real issue is being able to grasp the spirit of the matter. And this is only possible by staying within the work, taking responsibility, and confronting the results of one's performance. Real learning comes after that, with experience and time.
Source: Instagram Reels · Posted: June 3, 2026. The media link is in the "Medya URL" field.