I think Moms are the most underrated players on the team. In most families I work with, Mom is usually a bit quiet, yet I know she is the glue that holds the team together.
It’s my job to help create new ways to give Mom even more voice and impact on the family business team or the family.
This week for Mother’s Day, I’d like to give you a guide to take your communication and interaction with Mom to a new, even higher level. In sports they call it “deliberate practice” — it’s designed to stretch you out of your comfort zone to reach new levels of results.
Here are a few new ways to engage Mom with ten questions you can ask her. A quick note — many Moms will, at first, resist or try to brush off the question but it’s our job to use the exercise to gently help Mom stretch herself. She and the family will benefit from the stretching.
- What are your top hopes for our family now?
- What’s the #1 thing you’d like to say to everybody in the family if you weren’t worried about hurting anyone’s feelings?
- What would you like to see us all do more of?
- What would would you like to see us do less of?
- Tell me something about you or your life in this family that you’ve been holding back from telling me.
- What are you most proud of about our family?
- What are your biggest concerns for our family as we go forward?
- What have been your “guiding principles” in your life — those ideas that have guided your decisions?
- What regrets, if any, do you have about your life?
- What else can I or anyone in the family do for you?
I want you to give Mom the usual Mother’s Day gifts and pampering, but this year I also want you to give her a chance to reveal even more of her wisdom, strength and beauty. We all know Moms give us so much and have even more to give.
If you are a Mom, consider answering a few of these questions as a way to help lead and mentor the family even more.
Of course let’s all give Mom an extra big, little longer hug this Mother’s Day! Thank you to Moms everywhere for all you’ve done and continue to do for us!
Coach’s Insight: Moms have even more to give if we give them the right venue and push them a bit. Lots of Moms underestimate their power and influence and when we help them step out of their comfort zone they model that for all the other Moms within the family system.
Pete Walsh is a demanding, courageous and playful Master Certified Coach offering family business consulting in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the founder of Peak Workout Business Coaching and the Family Business Performance Center. Check out Coach Pete’s free tools: the Family Business Landmine Detection Map and the Family Business Survival Kit.
