From employee to boss: More than 100 interested parties at the digital themed talk on business succession

Joint project Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland invited to livestream from the SuperBioMarkt headquarters.

If the owner's child or former employee suddenly becomes the superior, it is not always easy - neither for the employees nor for the new boss himself. On Thursday (28 October), the digital themed talk "A Round of Succession" dealt with how to be accepted as a new manager and how to thrive in the new position. At the invitation of the joint project Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland, two company successors, a female successor and an expert talked and discussed in front of the camera. More than 100 interested people followed the livestream from the SuperBioMarkt headquarters at the harbour in Münster. One thing became particularly clear: without good communication, the role change will be difficult.

The event was already the third edition of the talk series "A Round of Succession", this time with the overall topic "Bottom up - Growing into the Leadership Role". "In Münsterland there are more and more company successions and more and more companies are ready for a handover. We were particularly interested this time: How does one succeed in finding one's own role in the new position and at the same time be appreciated by the employees?", explained Frank Sibbing, project manager of Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland at Münsterland e.V. "There are big differences, for example with regard to the fact whether the succession comes from within the family, within the company or from outside."

Talk round participant and host of the evening, Luca Radau, is currently in the middle of the takeover process. Luca Radau is in charge of corporate development at SuperBioMarkt AG and will join the management in the next two years. At SuperBioMarkt AG, Luca Radau has been responsible for sustainability management and various expansion projects since the beginning of 2021. Before that, he already gained experience at tegut in Fulda, BioCompany in Berlin and Ernsting's family. Luca Radau explained how glad he was to have gained a lot of external experience before joining directly. "At SuperBioMarkt, I was able to join directly as a department manager. As a result, I hope that the path to management has fewer hurdles," Radau said. "Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, I was able to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of being an independent entrepreneur at an early age. This has helped me to prepare for the next steps in my development."

Business coach Stefanie Schäfer brought a special perspective to the round. She has more than 20 years of professional experience in medium-sized family businesses in various functions and finally started her own business with "REFLECT-COACHING". Her advice: "In the context of a 'rounded' succession, every manager should find his or her own authentic path. To do this, it is necessary to develop a joint commitment to the respective succession process with all those involved and to become clear about one's own role in this process. Only in this way can resources and strengths be uncovered, but also conflicts regulated, which enable personal growth, but also expanded scope for action and perception."

Daniel Hagemeyer, owner of the Hagemeyer joinery in Sassenberg, and Judith Deitert, managing director of PFREUNDT GmbH in Südlohn, also took part in the discussion. While Hagemeyer took over the business of his former boss, Judith Deitert's succession took place within the family. The evening was moderated by Andrea Hansen.

The next themed talk is already being planned; specific dates will be announced soon on youngstarts-muensterland.com. In addition, the joint project offers further events on the topic of business succession, such as three online seminars and workshops in November. In addition, interested parties can find a podcast with exciting succession stories on youngstarts-muensterland.com.

More about Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland

The event was organised by the joint project Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland, which strengthens the start-up intensity in the Münsterland region and opens up new start-up potential and target groups with target group-specific offers. The project is funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Economics of North Rhine-Westphalia within the framework of the ERDF call "Regio.NRW".

Münsterland e.V. is implementing it as lead partner together with the following partners: Wirtschaftsförderung Kreis Coesfeld GmbH (wfc), Wirtschaftsförderung im Kreis Warendorf (gfw), Technologieförderung Münster GmbH, TAFH Münster GmbH, Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Steinfurt mbH (WESt) and Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft für den Kreis Borken mbH (WFG). Further supporters are the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Münster Chamber of Crafts.