{"id":261367,"date":"2025-10-27T07:22:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T06:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coachlab.hu\/?p=261367"},"modified":"2025-11-20T22:43:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T21:43:31","slug":"sikeres-tulajdonosi-generaciovaltas-magyar-kkv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coachlab.hu\/en\/blog\/successful-ownership-generciovaltas-hungarian-sme\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201eDad\/Anya, we don't do it like that anymore!\u201d - Successful ownership generation change and the role of coaching in Hungarian SMEs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201eDad\/Anya, we don't do it like that anymore!\u201d - Successful ownership generation change and the role of coaching in Hungarian SMEs<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Estimated reading time:<\/strong> 10 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Change of Ownership Generation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A change of ownership generation<\/strong> in the case of Hungarian SMEs, it is the critical and often emotionally charged process whereby the founder-owner - who typically started his business around the time of the regime change and is now reaching retirement age - hands over ownership and operational management of his company to the next generation, usually his own family members. This move goes far beyond a simple administrative or legal transaction; it is also a succession of a \u201elife's work\u201d built up over decades, a strategic, psychological and cultural shift. It involves testing the ability of the founder to let go, preparing and motivating the successor, and aligning the (often divergent) mindsets and working styles of the two generations, all to ensure a successful future for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why is the change of ownership often stuck in the case of Hungarian SMEs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A change of ownership generation<\/a> <\/strong>perhaps the most difficult and risky period for Hungarian SMEs. Far from being just a legal or administrative handover, it is an emotional, psychological and strategic storm where generations, different work ethics and family roles collide. Most family business succession<\/strong> is stuck because the founder cannot let go and the successor cannot (or does not dare) go his own way. In this situation, the generational change through coaching<\/strong> building bridges: helping to speak the unspeakable, translating the \u201elanguage\u201d of generations to each other, and ensuring that the oeuvre is not lost but successfully transformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Family Lunch Where Your Life's Work Matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Imagine Sunday lunch. There sits Istvan, 68, the founder of the company. He built his 80-strong manufacturing company from scratch. He knows every machine, shakes hands with every worker. Opposite him is his son G\u00e1bor, 40, with an MBA. G\u00e1bor sees the opportunities of digitalisation and new markets, but also that his father's methods - while they have worked until now - are becoming obsolete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Istv\u00e1n: \u201eG\u00e1bor, I have seen the quarterly plan. Why do you want to push this CRM system? It worked on paper for 30 years.\u201d G\u00e1bor sighs: \u201eDad, we don't do it like that anymore! We can't grow if we can't see the data. The competition is passing us by.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silence. Istv\u00e1n feels resentment (\u201eMy son looks down on what I did\u201d) and G\u00e1bor frustration (\u201eDad doesn't trust me\u201d). Neither of them says what they really feel. Istv\u00e1n says: \u201eI'm afraid that what I've built up, you'll destroy. And I'm afraid of what will happen to me when I'm no longer the boss.<\/strong>\u201dG\u00e1bor said, \u201eI respect you, but I need the space to put something on the table. I don't want to live in your shadow<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This scene is played out thousands of times in Hungarian SMEs. A change of ownership generation<\/strong> does not fail on Excel spreadsheets or contracts, but on the on unspoken sentences<\/strong>, or even judgements that are too strongly pronounced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\u201eDad\/Anya,
\u201eDad\/Anya, we don't do it like that anymore!\u201d - Successful ownership generation change and the role of coaching in Hungarian SMEs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why is the change so painful? The Real Problems Under the Carpet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When a company is run by the same person for decades, his or her personality becomes one with the company. He is the \u201eFather\u201d, the \u201eBoss\u201d, the \u201eAll-rounder\u201d. A change of ownership generation<\/strong> this identity would have to be detached from the company, which could be experienced almost as a grieving process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At CoachLab, with decades of leadership and more than 10 years of coaching experience, we see that Hungarian SMEs family business succession<\/strong> they face the same challenges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. The \u201eFounder Syndrome\u201d (Inability to Release):<\/strong> For the founder, the company is his \u201echild\u201d. How can he pass it on to someone else? Even if that other person is his own child. Often, even after the handover, there is still a \u201eshadow steering\u201d, with the founder continuing to come in and give instructions, undermining the authority or self-worth of the new manager.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The \u201eOther Language\u201d (Generation Gap):<\/strong> For the founding generation (Baby Boomers or X), work equals life, with time in the office and stable profits as the measure of success. The successor generation (Y or Z) thinks differently: it's important to purpose<\/em> (goal), flexibility, digitalisation and work-life balance. When they talk, they use the same words, but they mean something completely different<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The Unmotivated or Unprepared Successor:<\/strong> A very common situation; what if the child doesn't want to?<\/em> He may have a different career path, different interests, or simply see how stressful his father\/mother's life has been and does not wish it for himself. Worse still, he may take it on, but only out of a sense of duty, without any real commitment or vision. This leads to the slow death of the company.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. The Mixing of Family Roles:<\/strong> \u201eAre you the boss or my father?\u201d Still father-son at lunch, now owner-manager at the office? These roles inevitably become blurred, and a business dispute can easily turn into a personal grievance that paralyses decision-making.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\u201eDad\/Anya,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The Coaching Bridge between Generations: how do we help you make the transition?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    When the tension is already palpable and the change of ownership generation<\/strong> seem to be stuck, most people turn to a lawyer or financial adviser. But the problem is rarely legal; always<\/em> human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is where generational change comes in coachinggal<\/a> and organisational development. At CoachLab Coaching Services, we do not give financial advice or write succession plans. We go deeper than that: we help our stakeholders can write<\/em> their own plan and be able to implement it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What does this look like in practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. The Mirror (Clarifying Real Goals):<\/strong> An leadership coaching generational change<\/strong> the first step is always to talk to them individually. An experienced coach (such as R\u00f3bert Rad\u00f3<\/a> from our team, who has been through several such processes) helps the founder to articulate what he or she is afraid of actually<\/em>. What is his vision for the company and by himself<\/em> about the future? We do the same with the successor: what does he want \u0151<\/em>? Do you even want to? If yes, how? This clarity is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. The Translator (Finding a Common Voice):<\/strong> Once the individual goals are clear, the joint, moderated sessions can begin. The coach is not a judge here, but a \u201etranslator\u201d. He helps to translate the founder's \u201elanguage of concern\u201d for the successor and the successor's \u201elanguage of innovation\u201d for the founder. We help to set a framework where the parties can talk about their expectations and fears without judgement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. The Designer (Structuring the Process):<\/strong> The succession coaching<\/strong> not just talk. We break the process down into concrete, measurable steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n