~3 minute read.
Our guest story-teller today is Damian Trumino. Damian is the General Manager of Superior Tyre Wholesalers, a second-generation family business established by his father in 1974.
With more than 30 years in the business, Damian has experienced firsthand the challenges and rewards of working alongside family and believes that clear accountability and honest conversations are crucial to building a stronger business.
In his words …
For many years, I found myself increasingly frustrated by the lack of accountability within our business. We are a second-generation family business, and like many family businesses, our history is something we are incredibly proud of.
My father, Richard, established the business in 1974. Over time, the responsibility of carrying it forward has been passed to the next generation. There is enormous pride that comes with that responsibility. But there is also pressure.
For years, we held meetings where we discussed priorities, identified problems, and agreed on actions. Everyone left with the best intentions. Then, somehow, weeks or months later, we found ourselves having exactly the same conversations.
Pressure to protect what my father built. Pressure to make the right decisions. Pressure to grow and improve a long-standing, successful business. Pressure to become the leader your family believes you can be.
The same issues. The same frustrations. The same arguments.
Like most businesses, we were busy. Everyone had competing priorities. Everyone had legitimate reasons why something hadn’t been completed. In a family business, accountability can be even more challenging. You’re not simply working with colleagues. In our case, we’re working with siblings and parents. People you’ve known your entire life and shared experiences with well beyond the workplace.
Conversations that should have remained business discussions could quickly become personal. And they did. Decisions were influenced by history, emotion, and, at times, a desire to simply cut an argument short. The relationships that make a family business so rewarding can also make the difficult conversations the hardest to have.
Over time, my frustration grew. I felt as though we were constantly busy but not necessarily making meaningful progress. Eventually, I realised that continuing to do the same thing while expecting a different outcome wasn’t just affecting the business. It was affecting me. It was impacting my mental wellbeing. It was beginning to tear our family apart.
As a family, we needed help. We realised we needed someone independent. Someone who could ask the difficult questions and help manage our Sicilian family dynamics. Someone who could challenge our thinking, hold us accountable, and ensure that decisions actually became actions.
We needed a referee!
In a family business, accountability can be even more challenging. You’re not simply working with colleagues. In our case, we’re working with siblings and parents.
We invited an external Chairperson to facilitate our monthly management meetings. It wasn’t because we lacked experience. We know tyres. That’s what we’ve spent our lives doing. What we lacked was accountability.
The impact was immediate. Our meetings became more focused. Actions were documented. Individual areas of responsibility were clearly assigned. Deadlines became meaningful. Every commitment was followed up. Most importantly, the conversations became more civil and respectful.
The introduction of an external Chairperson has been one of the most positive decisions we’ve ever made. Not because they arrived with all the answers, but because they created a level of accountability and structure that we had been unable to create ourselves.
It’s also been one of the most courageous decisions we’ve made as a family business. It meant admitting our existing approach wasn’t working. It meant accepting that being a family business didn’t mean we had to solve every challenge ourselves. It meant recognising that sometimes the person best placed to help your business move forward is someone who isn’t part of your family at all.
We still make mistakes. We still have difficult conversations. But today, those conversations lead to action. We’re more willing to ask the difficult questions, accept responsibility for the answers, and hold one another accountable. Not because we have to, but because we understand that’s how great businesses continue to evolve.
Along the way, I also learned something about leadership. I had spent years feeling frustrated by the lack of accountability around me, but eventually I had to admit that I was part of the problem. I had allowed conversations to end without clear follow-up. I had assumed people understood what was expected of them. Sometimes, my expectations of others were too high. I also had to work on the way I delivered my message.
To me, accountability isn’t about blame. It’s about ownership and following through on your commitments. It’s about having the courage to challenge one another with respect.
Sometimes, the most valuable person in the boardroom isn’t the one with your surname—it’s the one willing to hold everyone, including the leaders, accountable.
To me, accountability isn’t about blame. It’s about ownership and following through on your commitments. It’s about having the courage to challenge one another with respect.
Superior Tyre Wholesalers in 2024.
I’ve had the absolute pleasure of knowing Damian for some years – both personally and professionally. Key leadership skills and attributes that Damian demonstrates consistently and appropriately are self-awareness, care, empathy, vulnerability, commitment, the expertise required to manage a business … and fun and playfulness; he makes me laugh out loud. These are all skills and attributes that connect us to others and build relationships … and we know how important it is to connect with people before we lead them.
I feel very lucky to know Damian both inside and outside of work. I feel privileged to be included in his world.
@CourageChick
