Running and growing any business comes with a specific set of trials and tribulations. When you add the additional complexities and intricacies that come with a family-owned business, an entire layer of additional challenges arises.
A family-owned business is a wonderful opportunity to keep a company alive through trusted generations of children, parents, aunts, and uncles. It comes with its own sense of pride and can really function like a well-oiled machine when executed properly. However, a business consisting of mostly family members can feel like a landmine to navigate.
The dynamic of a family business embodies the idea that business is personal. Feelings can get in the way of logic, and can actually supersede decisions that might be made differently in a non-family-owned business. Rewards can far outweigh complications, but only through hard work, patience, and the access and practice of the right set of tools. The need for these tools and their application is why an executive coach who specializes in family business coaching may be just what you need to leverage the unique family business dynamic, navigate the complexities, and rise to the next level. When determining whether or not your family business needs coaching, here are a few factors to consider.
Leadership Succession Strategy for Family Businesses
Position Appointment
It’s critical to consider several factors when making the decision to appoint a family member to a position or promote them to a higher position as you plan for the future of your family business. For starters, you will want to develop an effective strategy for leadership succession. This can often be overlooked when your successor is someone you are related to, but a family member should be treated the same way as a non-related employee, with a clear and detailed path to success as a roadmap. They should also be held to the same performance standards and given the same consequences for failure as a non-relative.
Bridging Generational Gaps
Another critical factor to consider when planning succession is taking the time to help develop the next generation of leadership in your organization. This can include formal education, thought leadership seminars or webinars, personal mentoring, and clear paths that each employee can take to achieve upward mobility. When passing down your business, take the time to understand the millennial workforce and the level of accountability and access to communication that needs to be offered to allow them to spread their wings while still providing the foundational support they need.
In the interim, incorporating elements like democratic and collaborative decision-making can open the floor to more diverse opinions on how the company can be run and give you a feel for the kind of support your successor still needs.
This is only the tip of the iceberg when considering an eventual transfer of ownership in your family business. There are several other factors that an executive coach can assist you with and help you successfully keep your family-owned business alive and thriving.
Making Tough Choices
Choosing the right person to serve as your next CEO can be a sensitive subject and an overwhelming undertaking. Determining who to pass the business on to and how to develop the talent in the next generation of leaders requires the right tools to execute successfully. Making sure that the newest generations want to take over executive board positions is a challenge within itself, and then you have the nuanced details of hierarchy and the tricky subject of compensation to navigate. These waters become even murky when you are dealing with siblings.
An executive coach can help you tackle any major issues that your business may be facing because of the unique challenges a family business faces Whether your company has longstanding issues and conflict, or you are looking to forecast and avoid future complexities, family business coaching is an investment you can make now that will pay off in the long run.
To learn more about executive coaching for family businesses, contact Dr. Delligatti.