Unifying Your Multigenerational Family Business for Long-Term Success

Working together as a family can be intense, especially when traditionalists, baby boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z all work in a business. Family relationships in any context can be trying, and being in business together may complicate things further.

Whether differences are minor and infrequent or major and constant, conflict is natural in families. But fostering healthy family relationships and solidifying your business’ legacy is attainable with open minds, hard work, dedication, and clear communication.

Ask for Help

Even if you're running a family business, it's fine to ask for help outside the family. Business consultants, coaches, and therapists can help unpack family business challenges. Asking for help isn’t evidence of dysfunction, but of strength and determination.

Labeling families that need help “dysfunctional” bothers Thomasina Williams, founder of Sankofa Legacy Advisors, whose mission is helping families develop connected and capable leaders for their businesses. With Williams' help, clients have restored family relationships and their businesses. 

“You wouldn’t say that about other professionals,” says Williams. “You’d just give them the support they need."

Cherlette McCullough, founder of Center Peace Couples and Family Therapy, a therapist who works with families, including family businesses, believes mental health support can often be helpful. McCullough also has significant expertise in working with family businesses.  

“Many small business owners are confronting multiple personal issues,” she says. “They often don't know how to identify what they're going through. You bring your personal life to your family business, and often the two get intertwined."

There also are instances where one family member is experiencing a significant struggle that's disrupting the family business, such as substance abuse.

The temptation can be to distance yourself from that family member. But family business coach Angelika Olsen says families should proceed with caution. 

“Rather than distancing from them, what’s really important is that everybody circles that person and gets them the help they need,” she says. It's worth keeping in mind that person may have all the voting rights, financial information, and assets as other family members, she added.

With the right help, members of multigenerational businesses can implement strategies that help them resolve issues and hopefully set an example for future generations.

Identify Your Shared Values and Vision 

By working collaboratively across generations, family business leaders can make their workplaces inclusive, facilitating understanding across age ranges and roles.

Family members can commit to building trust through learning to communicate with each other. That starts with identifying and focusing on the shared values and vision for the family business. Before families can do that, Williams believes individual family members must know who they are individually.

"Identify your own values, then share those values with other family members to see where there's alignment," she says.

She also says older family members with more traditional values can be open to listening to younger family member with innovative ideas. Olsen agrees.

"It's important family members make the business a safe space where everyone, whether younger or older, may express their opinion without being squelched or squashed," Olsen says. "Once there's clarity around what's important, those values should get repeated frequently. Then you have a much greater chance of everyone being in alignment."

Having these shared values lived out consistently in the business not only increases the likelihood that the business' profitability grows, but that it also remains viable.

Family business is personal, and family interactions often are emotionally charged. There's nothing wrong with getting professional help to facilitate the communication necessary to establish or reestablish your family values formally. It may be the only way you can move forward, especially if you or other family members have trouble controlling your emotions. That's where an expert can help.

Professionally Develop Your Family Leaders and Employees

Education and development also can be key to unifying your family business members. Exciting opportunities for growth through professional development are just as important in a family-run business, Williams notes.

“If you look at the Rockefellers and the Waltons and similar families, they engage in family learning throughout their lives,” she explains. 

Each member of the business should have a professional development plan, and everyone should undergo constant training. If everyone feels confident and competent in their role, there may be less conflict.

How to Start Seeking Support

Utilizing coaches, consultants, and therapists can be crucial for family businesses to thrive. Colleges and universities also have specialized programs to help family businesses.

Additionally, there are specialized publications covering family businesses, along with several family business conferences.

Families can attend many of these educational programs and events together, just as they might go on a family vacation. It’s an opportunity to meet and learn from other multigenerational business leaders. These events also are opportunities for identifying new products, services, and business strategies.

Many of these methods are ones you can conduct collaboratively with other family members. By making all the strategies and activities covered here a regular part of your family vision and values, you can strengthen family unity and help your multigenerational business thrive for many generations to come.

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