The Future Leader: The Successor's Guide to Family Business Leadership

by Patti Durand

The Future Leader is a business fable that serves as a practical resource, offering guidance to prepare for leadership while navigating the unique challenges of family dynamics and business responsibilities. Follow a candid dialogue between Jordan, a new successor, and Kelly, a family friend who has years of firsthand experience in the trials of succession. When Jordan seeks advice, Kelly commits to mentoring and sharing hard-earned wisdom in the development of leadership skills. Through their conversation, readers will gain a fresh perspective on the role of a successor and discover actionable insights they can apply within their own family businesses.
The author, Patti Durand, grew up in a family business near Teulon, Manitoba, Canada. Her career has included agriculture, marketing, and finance, while managing businesses alongside her husband, Larry. The Future Leader draws on the many lessons she observed while coaching and facilitating hundreds of family business conversations. Patti often wondered, What if successors started preparing for leadership earlier and were encouraged to lead the process? This book is her offering to help create that possibility.

Kindle Edition

Published December 16, 2024

Reviews

[Jonathan Mutch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the content overly simplistic, with very little that felt new or challenging. While the book sets out to support successors in navigating family business leadership, it mostly offers broad, familiar advice—self-awareness, communication, active listening, etc.—without getting into the complex realities that many successors actually face.

The Jordan-Kelly dialogue structure, which serves as a framing device throughout the book, didn’t resonate with me. It came across as contrived and overly polished, like a scripted roleplay in a corporate training session. For a topic that involves power dynamics, legacy pressure, and often unspoken tension, I was expecting a more grounded, nuanced approach.

To its credit, the book is accessible and might be helpful for someone very early in their journey—especially if they’ve never thought critically about leadership or family dynamics before. But for those already working in a family enterprise or dealing with succession challenges in practice, it lacks the depth, specificity, and strategic thinking required to be genuinely useful.

I was hoping for more insight, more complexity, and more substance. This didn’t deliver.

[Jodi Allen Corbett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leadership is a journey, not a destination—a truth Patti Durand captures in The Future Leader. Drawing from years in teaching and administration, I’ve seen how education thrives on trust, collaboration, and relationships. Yet, succession planning and leadership development in many school divisions remain underdeveloped, making strong leadership essential.

Durand’s practical, easy-to-read guide offers actionable insights and tasks for personal and professional growth. Key themes like professional development, face-to-face communication, and team relationships emphasize leading with integrity, connection, and inspiration.

This roadmap to succession planning applies to family businesses and organizations alike. The Future Leader is a resource I’ll revisit often and a must-read for anyone seeking to lead with intention and impact.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Patti Durand focuses on succession planning in The Future Leader, any forward thinking business owner needs to read this book. Well-written and well-organized, Durand addresses many important topics that will help anyone and everyone grow and improve as a leader; from effective communication strategies, to thinking about your finances, to deciding what kind of leader you want to be. This not only applies in the business sense but much of Durand's advice can and should be applied at the board table just as much as in the meeting room.

No matter where you are in your career, Durand will help you feel seen and heard with plenty of advice on how to succeed as a leader.

"There are several routes to successfully leading a business, but discovering the best routes for yourself and your family requires conversation and collaboration."

[C WOlf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patti Durand’s book is exactly what my family needed as we begin our journey into farm family succession planning. Patti’s understanding of the needs of both the successor and the current owner really opens a path for this journey. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone transitioning a business.