An Occupational Psychologist should play a key role in transitions of ownership and/or leadership in family owned or closely held enterprises. Yet most advisors who work with families on these sensitive transitions don’t realize that occupational psychologists should be part of the team of transition professionals. While these advisers often seek the participation of a clinical or counseling psychologist or a licensed clinical social worker to address the emotional issues that often emerge among family members during a transition, to optimize transition outcomes, an occupational psychologist should be engaged to work directly with the enterprise itself. The occupational psychologist guides the transition of roles, responsibilities and reporting structures that emerge during the typical three to five year transition period. The occupational psychologist uses assessments of individuals and job roles to assure that transition decisions are data- based decisions. Whenever possible, models of future leadership roles are created, and potential role occupiers are assessed for both current goodness of fit to the role and the need for development toward a better fit to the role. The occupational psychologist should not be the ultimate decision maker about whether a given family member or non-family member is best suited for the role; that […]