Keeping Your Family Business Healthy
by:
R. Phillip
Colon, Ph.D. and Jerry I. Kleiman, Ph.D.
Approximately ninety
percent of the businesses in the
There are many reasons for this
alarming rate of failure. In addition to dealing with the problems that any
business organization must resolve, family-owned businesses also need to
negotiate issues arising from the interaction of the family and the business.
As one businessperson put it, "It's hard to know at times where the
business ends and the family begins." Just as
trying to run a family like a business has obvious limitations, the reverse is
also true. Its understandable how family businesses
struggle with balancing the needs of its individual members and /or the family
verses the needs of the business, which may not be the same.
Imagine being the president of a
company and having to decide on the assignment of responsibilities to his/her
adult children in the business. For example, who will head a project or be
assigned to run a division in the company. Sometimes the decision is obvious,
at least to the president. But it may not seem so obvious to the siblings. Or
how about having to approach one's child or sibling, whose
also an employee, about problems in the quality or performance of their work.
As you can imagine, the situation at
the workplace can be tense and the relational history will determine how the
matter will be handled. In the words of another businessperson, "There are
time when things are said and done and there are lines crossed that would never
be if it wasn't a family business." Efforts to organize the business, assign job descriptions and determine fair
compensation for the employees/family members can be complicated by unresolved
conflicts, long-standing rivalries and extended family concerns.
Fortunately, there are psychologists
who understand the unique culture of the family-owned business. These
psychologists, with a background in organizational and family psychology, can
work with the family-owned business to develop practical solutions to the
problems confronting them. They provide a thorough assessment of the relational
issues and needs confronting the family-owned business, then work with family
members to identify and negotiate areas of conflict towards resolution. Their
goal is to help resolve family relationship issues as they impact on the
stability, success, growth and future of the family owned business.
Members of family-owned businesses can
lose sight of the MUTUAL goals and interests that they share. The business
consultant, by meeting with the individual family members and holding family
meetings, helps to develop a more common platform from which family members can
begin to work together. Using principles of mediation, negotiation and creative
problem solving, they work with family members to help resolve impasses. By
empowering the family to resolve their problems, the way is paved toward the
achievement of stability, success, growth.
The consulting psychologist is often
contacted when there are difficulties related to transition from one life phase
to another, either at home or in the business. Often the founder parent has
difficulty relinquishing responsibility to the "heir apparent" of the
business. Sometimes siblings are fighting with each other because their is no heir apparent and there is a struggle for
control. Some heads of company avoid such a decision, to the detriment of the
business.
The business consultant/psychologist
can be instrumental in helping to manage family tensions. Mediating inter- and
intra-generational issues and assisting in succession planning can make the
difference between successful transition and disorganization within the
business. In addition , the consulting psychologist
can work with the family-owned business to help balance family and business
priorities, facilitate family business meetings, and collaborate with other
professional advisors.
There are many advantages to working
together with one's family. Increasingly, family-owned businesses are
recognizing that when family relationships threaten to disrupt either the
business or the family, there is help for both. The choice between family or business is a choice that should not have to be made.
Reprinted from "