Practice
Diversification: Consulting to family-owned businesses*
by:
R. Phillip Colon, Ph.D. & Jerry I. Kleiman, Ph.D.
[1]
|
Wanted: Professional
experienced in conflict resolution, mediation, and communication skills
development. Must like drama, be able to see the larger picture, and identify
obstacles to goal achievement. The ability to facilitate group interaction is
a plus. Flexible hours, good pay. |
Many psychologists seeing such a
want ad could readily identify themselves as potential candidates to fill such
a position. In fact, the ad pretty much describes much of what we do in our
clinical practice of helping couples and families. What if, however, the
advertisement was for a professional to work with family-owned businesses. Would psychologists still see themselves as
viable candidates for the job?
The above question is not a
hypothetical one. With the advent of managed care and the saturation of the
market place, quite a number of psychologists have been rethinking their
practice and the services they provide. If one’s aim is to diversify one’s
clinical practice, psychologists must ask themselves what new markets they can
enter where their skill sets are applicable. Considering the depth and breadth
of the education and training of psychologists, the answer is most anywhere
that involves people and the treatment of the human condition.
Clinical psychologists are
accustomed to working within the confines of the treatment room. Consistency
can be better established in such a context and parameters are more easily set
to control and measure therapeutic variables and treatment effectiveness.
Family psychologists, however, are trained to view the individual within the
context of the family and to understand the family within the context of the larger
ecosystem. As family therapists we often use our client’s extended family as a
resource for remediation, healing and growth. If a client in our care expressed
conflicts or issues with a spouse or a family member, few would have
reservations about asking that spouse or family member to come in for a
session. If, however, a client expresses conflicts or issues with family
members with whom they are in business with, we tend to see the issues as
occurring within the workplace and therefore outside our scope of expertise and
practice. Yet moving the treatment process to the place of business where the
family members interface can be seen as a logical extension of what we are
already doing as family therapists. The task of the family business
consultant/family psychologist is to remediate family relationship problems as
they are manifested in and impact the family-owned business. The goal of the
consultant is to potentiate these relationships in
both the business and the family.
Certainly, business problems require
the attention of those trained in business and finance. Business advisors and
consultants, however, lament how sound business advice can be ignored or
rendered ineffective by members of a family-owned business .
Closer examination of these situations often reveals that family relationship
tensions, conflicts and hidden agendas are impeding business planning and
functioning. The media is ripe with stories of families shattered and blasted
by conflict in the family-owned business. Who is better suited to help in these
situations than the family psychologist?
CASE ILLUSTRATION:
The authors were contacted by
Mr. and Mrs. X, co-owners of the X & Y Contracting Company, a mid-sized
service business. Their two sons, Tom and Eddie, ages 32 and 28 respectively,
were also in the business. The parents saw Tom and Eddie as the source and
cause of the many conflicts, arguments and problems in the business. Relations
between the sons and the parents, particularly with the father, were at an all
time low. Conflicts often escalated into shouting matches, even in front of
employees and customers. There were several physical altercations between the
older son and his father. The two sons had left the business some years earlier
to start their own competing business, but were arrested and fined for illegal
business practices. The parents bailed their sons out and took them back into
their family business.
The problems in the X & Y
Company intensified when the father became ill, leaving his sons to run the
business while he recuperated. When the father returned, the sons maneuvered to
maintain and further their control of the business.
The family and the business were
in crisis. The stakes were high. The parents needed the sons working with them
in the business and the sons were dependent on the business. The non-family
employees were nervous about the security of their jobs and there were concerns
that the non-family managers would leave for more stable employment. As bad as
it was, the drama of the circumstances actually provided the impetus to effect
constructive changes within the family and the business.
In the beginning phase of our
work with the family, we served as referees, establishing rules of conduct
between the family members and bringing stability to the workplace. As the
family became more effective in controlling their words and actions,
interpersonal tensions could be identified and addressed. Long-standing anger,
resentment, and sibling rivalry were crippling the operation of the business.
For years, the business had been the primary means of relating within and
between the generations. Interactions within the family were often
characterized by chaos, with the business reflecting similar disorganization.
There were no set procedures for handling different aspects of the business,
there was confusion regarding roles and responsibilities, and as is not unusual
in smaller family-owned businesses, there were no regularly scheduled meetings
to discuss business issues.
Severe marital discord between
the parents was identified , along with pathological
alliances between the parents and their sons. The parents/owners could not
agree on what course of action to take regarding the sons and often undermined
each others unilateral efforts. Because of the father’s tendency to
inappropriately attempt to control his sons, the mother would often side with
them, nullifying the father’s authority. Little effort was made by her to
distinguish when her husband’s actions may have been appropriate.
Initially, most of the
consultations took place at company headquarters, allowing the authors access to key non-family personnel. These employees
were able to give perspectives that could not be provided by the family members
themselves. Meetings were held one to two times per week with the goal of
establishing a common working platform among family members. As progress was
made, the frequency of meetings decreased and the location of meetings was
transferred to the authors’ offices.
Using the business as the
context for interventions, the authors focused on remediating
familial patterns of interaction. Expectations were articulated, clarified and
differences were negotiated. Family members were taught effective communication
skills. Formal business meetings were scheduled and the family members were
coached on how to set an agenda. Business needs were reviewed,
titles and job descriptions were developed and formally assigned by the
parents/owners. A system of accountability and job performance review was
established. .
As progress was made in overall
functioning of the business, improvements in the relationships between family
members also occurred. Marital issues between the parents were addressed. One
of the sons had significant impulse control problems, and was diagnosed as
being clinically depressed. He was referred to a psychologist and a
psychiatrist. As trust and confidence in each other continued to develop, the
topic of business succession , i.e. who will lead the
business when the parents retire, was addressed by family members .
Some words of caution: 1) be
vigilant for possible conflicts of interests, as they arise more frequently
when working with family-owned businesses and 2) do not practice beyond the
scope of expertise, but refer to and collaborate with business consultants and
advisors. For example, requests can be made of the consultant to treat
individual family members or employees. To work with an identified patient
would diminish the consultant’s capacity to work with and have access to the
larger system. It is better to make a referral elsewhere. There are also times
when the consultant may be asked advice about an aspect of the business that
they are ill equipped to answer. Remember, you are a relationship expert and
aren’t expected to know all aspects and facets of the business. Ask questions
or develop your own resources to consult with and access. An excellent resource
for other consultants, study groups, mentors and reading material is the Family
Firm Institute ( http://www.ffi.org
or 617-789-4200).
It has been estimated that over
90% of businesses in the
*Reprint from the Newsletter of
the
[1] Drs. Kleiman and