Rena Striegel Examines What Happens When the Next Generation Is Ready, but the Current One Is Not

In family business succession, readiness does not always arrive at the same time. The next generation may have spent years learning the operation, taking on responsibility, and waiting for an opportunity to lead. Meanwhile, the generation currently in charge may still be trying to determine what stepping back would mean for its finances, identity, and place within the business.

Rena Striegel, President of Transition Point Business Advisors, has seen this difference in readiness become a difficult point in farm succession. After more than twenty years working with multi-generational families, she believes the challenge is rarely solved by deciding which generation is right. More often, families need to understand what is preventing each generation from feeling confident about the next step.

“One generation’s readiness does not automatically create readiness in the other,” Striegel said. “The way forward is not to push someone out or ask someone else to wait indefinitely. It is to have an honest conversation about what each generation needs and create a gradual path toward shared confidence.”

Ready to Lead, but Unsure When

For the next generation, readiness can become frustrating when there is no clear path toward greater responsibility.

A son or daughter may already manage employees, oversee production, handle customer or vendor relationships, or participate in major financial decisions. From their perspective, the next step can feel like a natural progression after years spent proving themselves in the business.

The difficulty arises when nobody has defined what that next step actually is.

Striegel has found that vague promises about taking over “someday” can become increasingly difficult for future leaders to accept. Without a clear understanding of what responsibilities they can earn, which decisions they can make, or how leadership will evolve, they are left trying to interpret the current generation’s intentions.

That uncertainty can eventually turn into frustration. What looks like impatience may instead reflect a need for clarity about whether there is a meaningful future for them in the business.

Stepping Back Can Raise Different Questions

The current generation may face an entirely different set of concerns.

For someone who has spent decades building a farm or family business, leadership is rarely just a position on an organizational chart. The business may shape daily routines, family relationships, financial security, and much of how that person sees his or her role in the world.

As a result, knowing that the next generation is capable does not necessarily make stepping back easy.

There may be legitimate financial questions to resolve before responsibility changes. Owners may also wonder how involved they should remain, whether their experience will still be valued, and what to do with the time and energy they have devoted to the operation for much of their adult lives.

Striegel believes those concerns deserve discussion rather than dismissal as resistance to change. A transition becomes harder when one generation feels held back, but it can be equally difficult when the other feels pushed aside.

Clarity Can Change the Conversation

Instead of debating whether someone is ready, Striegel encourages families to define what readiness means.

What decisions can the next generation begin making now? Which responsibilities still need to be developed? What evidence would give the current generation greater confidence? When will the family review progress, and what must happen before another level of authority is transferred?

Those conversations replace an undefined waiting period with something both generations can see and discuss.

They also create accountability. The next generation can demonstrate capability through meaningful responsibility, while the current generation can observe how decisions are made without carrying every decision itself.

If concerns emerge, families can address them while both generations are still actively involved rather than discovering them after an abrupt change in leadership.

Leadership Can Move Before Ownership Does

Striegel also emphasizes that succession does not require the current generation to disappear from the business.

Leadership can move gradually.

A parent who once made nearly every operational decision might begin by transferring authority over a specific area of the business. As confidence develops, additional responsibilities can follow. Over time, the current generation can shift from primary decision-maker to mentor and advisor.

That arrangement gives future leaders something they cannot gain by waiting on the sidelines: experience making consequential decisions and living with the results.

It also lets the current generation stay connected without controlling every aspect of the operation.

Creating a Transition Both Generations Can See

Raised on a dairy farm in Iowa, Striegel understands how closely family, work, and identity can become connected in agriculture. That is one reason she believes successful succession requires preparation on both sides of the transition.

Through Transition Point Business Advisors, her work helps families define responsibilities, discuss expectations, develop future leaders, and create a clearer path for how authority can change over time.

When one generation feels ready before the other, the answer does not have to be an immediate handoff or an indefinite delay. A gradual transition can give the next generation room to lead while giving the current generation time to build confidence in what comes next.

More information about Transition Point Business Advisors is available on the company’s website. Rena Striegel also shares insights through Instagram and YouTube.

About Rena Striegel

Rena Striegel is the President of Transition Point Business Advisors and one of the leading authorities in agricultural and family business succession planning. With over twenty years of experience advising multi-generational families across the United States, she is known for addressing the human dynamics that determine a transition’s success or failure.

Raised on a dairy farm in Iowa, Striegel brings real-world insight, deep empathy, and a proven process that helps families move from conflict and uncertainty to clarity and alignment. She created The DIRTT Project, a succession planning system designed specifically for agriculture, and hosts the Ag Inspo podcast.

Striegel’s work helps families preserve their legacy, strengthen communication, prepare future leaders, and build a future they are proud to pass on.

About Transition Point Business Advisors

Transition Point Business Advisors works with agricultural and family-owned businesses on succession planning, strategic planning, continuity planning, communication, and leadership development. The firm helps families address both the business requirements of transition and the human dynamics that influence how successfully ownership and leadership move from one generation to the next.