Family Business Succession Planning

and Integral Coaching

Many times the issues faced within a family business are similar; with competing egos, difficulty separating ‘family’ from ‘business’, the ‘patriarch/matriarch’ who created the business in the first place wanting to stay in control (autocratic leadership), the youngsters wanting to be innovative and assert their own authority, different emerging visions for the business...etc.

Over my years of coaching I have worked with many family businesses and have loved the dynamic of passion, mixed with some high frustration, and some very blurred boundaries.

For family business succession planning and integral coaching the coach needs the following skills;

*to remain objective at all times, to all parties, equally. No favourites.

*to be able to work for the best of the whole team when working with the whole team and for the individuals when working one-on-one. For example, it might be best for the whole team that they move in direction A, but for an individual, this is not where their passion/enthusiasm lies. How does the integral coach ensure the team thrives, the individuals thrive, the business thrives, even with the existence of dissonance?

*when working with the individuals within the team privately, to maintain the highest level of confidentiality, unless mutually agreed that something must be shared. For the integral coach, maintaining these private conversations in confidence means that they cannot imply through innuendo, suggestion, or otherwise; any details of a conversation with anyone internally or externally. When they do come together with the whole team, they must keep the private conversations part of the bigger picture that they hold without informing or disclosing any details. To do this well requires a level of mastery, a systemic understanding, and the ability to work in a complex space with integrity. If the integral coach can hold the tension between all parties, and the insight they have from all parties, and work within the space created, they can invite the possibility for wisdom to emerge from the family members. They do this through a combination of teaching models that restructure current reality, coaching around specific issues, asking questions that invite possibility, generating discussion and dialogue, including deep listening, and allowing a natural gestation rate for the family members to integrate shared stories and new learnings. Family business succession planning will not succeed without this level of confidentiality and mastery.

*to bring an integrally informed coach approach to the family business dynamic. In plain English, to work in the four quadrants. It is not just about action, or setting clear agreements, or building new systems. It is about doing all that is required.

*the integral coach needs to be be clear that they are not an adviser or consultant. Their role is to coach and support the decision making of the family, and the family business succession planning, by raising awareness and working to bring clarity to the situation. The family will continue to make decisions and will need to take responsibility and ownership for their decisions.

How does the integral coach support the family business succession planning transition from the figure-head/creator of the business, to their children? What is the family business succession plan, including the distribution of assets?

This is a very common issue in family businesses. Usually the father has created the business, often for himself, occasionally with a very clear goal to have the children come into the business. (Whether they want to or not.) The family business succession plan is often devised in the imagination of the patriarch, and rarely thought through with the requisite consideration to all other parties and what is best for the business.

We need to explore intentions for all members of the family, both as individuals and within the family. This includes the larger family, such as spouses and children of children. Very often the spouses may be fueling fires of disagreement, mistrust, or entitlement, openly from within the group, or silently from the shadows. Unless their voice is brought to the table, openly, the shadow elements within the family dynamic will be toxic on all levels, including to the success of the business.

*Is there a sense of obligation to the family that precludes or includes personal hopes and dreams?

*Are the intentions of each member clearly articulated, understood, accepted?

*How much control does the initial creator of the business overtly and covertly desire?

*Who is the natural/obvious successor, and how much agreement is there around this? Has family business succession planning been clearly discussed?

*How are disagreements and disputes managed?

*Is there any sense of entitlement? Or an undercurrent of discrimination towards or against anyone, or any project?

*Are the future roles clearly articulated and agreed?

*How much influence does the initial creator have and is his/her influence exercised with openness?

*Are the children stepping up to the level of leadership required to take the business forward? Often with an autocratic leader, children have remained secondary to the business in their duties and responsibilities through reinforced training. Coaching them to take the extra responsibility required involves encouragement, vigilance, training, and support.

*Are the children indulged and/or given responsibilities above and beyond their level of skill? Many parents are blind to the abilities of their child, and will either give them too much, or too little responsibility. Placing a child without the skill into the leadership role is potentially damaging to the family business succession plan, and may destroy the business.

How are the boundaries between work and family managed?

Many times the boundaries are very blurred, and there is no distinction. Every BBQ is business and every business meeting is about family. This kind of blurring may have been going on for years as ‘business-as-usual.’ It may work well for some family business, but if there are tensions and resentment, clear boundaries need to be established and maintained.

Is there a clear and aligned vision for the future shared by all?

Like all businesses, creating and maintaining a clear vision that inspires all players is necessary for the success of the business. It is a critical piece of family business succession planning.

In family businesses, often the vision of the children is different to that of the creator/father figure. Many want more innovation, better use of technology, even a very different direction. The father has done things a certain way for a long time with great success. How do you bring in change, and at what level? How do you allow the children wings enough to fly without killing the business in the process? Navigating these kinds of tensions as a coach takes clarity and foresight.

Are there any underlying tensions, resentments, with-held ideas, thoughts, opinions?

Bringing the shadow to the surface is necessary to support a healthy business and family environment. Teaching the members how to surface their disagreements, conflicts, tensions and resentments in a healthy way will ensure ongoing success of the business.

The integral coach will many times engage a process that includes training, followed by facilitating meetings to demonstrate the training, then being in a supportive but back-seat role as the training is embedded, offering tips and suggestions to refine the process.

Their job is to coach the development, so that the family members embody the training and coaching and are able to integrate it themselves without the coach being present.

What are the structural dynamics within the business? What systems are in place? Who has responsibility for what role?

Many family businesses have given little consideration to the overall structure and dynamics of the business. The ‘all hands on deck’ approach is quite normal. Policies and procedures may be implied versus clearly understood.

This may work well for a family, however, it is often very difficult for any non-family members of the business team to integrate into this kind of homogenous mix.

This raises the question of boundaries and agreements between family and non-family? All of the questions and considerations already outlined above need to be raised in respect to non-family staff members.

Quite often the natural successor of a business is not from within the family.

If there is a common agreement around intention, then this is easy to manage. For example, is the intention a successful business, or is it that the family stay running the business? They may be mutually exclusive.

Summary

This is a brief outline of some of the many tensions and dynamics found within a family business that require masterful coaching. Family business succession planning may be a complex process requiring time spent deep in the family dynamics.

More times than not I have stepped into the coaching role of a family business and had to really support very foundational business practices.

When the family create the space for coaching in the business the aim is always to move towards a win win win. A win for all individuals within the business, a win for the business and a win for the family. If we hold this as a common intent, progress is significant and powerful.

In our integral coaching work with family business succession planning we also include working with them to define how their business might be able to move towards positive deviance. How do they offer products and services that address the needs of the present with with challenges of the future?

To return from Family Business Succession Planning to Executive Coaching

To return to Positive Deviant Home Page

New! Comments