After spending the past 20 years working with families all over the globe, I’ve identified 10 core skills your family should develop and hone.
I say, “Develop and hone” for a reason. You all probably have some amount of these skills, yet great, high-performing, dynasty teams know they need to practice their skills to keep them sharp.
So, look the list over, see where you think you and your team are, and get practicing!
Here they are:
Vision
Is everyone on the same page for both the short and long-term direction of the business? Does everyone have a personal vision for their life that fits nicely into the overall family vision?
Mindset
Great teams exude positivity, confidence and an open mind. What is the general mindset of your family and the individuals in the family? Proper mindset needs to be developed and maintained.
Communication
Every family needs to work on this one. Effective communication involves speaking, listening, written communication, family meetings, dealing with conflict and setting individual and group expectations.
Leadership
Successful families need to identify and foster leadership skills among the whole community and not just rely on one or two powerful leaders. Leadership is needed in the business and within the family.
Conflict
Learning to handle conflict in productive ways is vital to long-term success. Conflict is a normal and healthy element in a successful family. Most families avoid conflict. This can lead to bigger issues. Check out my Landmine Detection Map here.
Resiliency
Most successful families face challenges both internally and externally. If the family can develop resiliency, their chances are much better at long-term survival.
Expectations
Guess what? People can’t perform at the needed level if the family doesn’t do a good job of clearly outlining the expectations or involvement inside the business or outside the business.
Accountability
Expectations without accountability leads to resentment and poor performance. Great teams learn how to hold each other accountable in productive and positive ways.
Camaraderie
I think it’s the secret ingredient for long-term success. It doesn’t mean everyone loves to be together, but it does mean that they learn how to be together and have some fun. They will appreciate the common ground and respect their differences. Strong teams learn how to play together.
Support
It’s vital that people build their ability to provide support to each other. It’s not only a great way to ensure long-term success, it can be a very rewarding thing to do to help one another out.
I welcome any feedback you have about these 10 life skills or any questions you have about how they fit within your family.
Play to your potential!
Coach Pete
Pete Walsh is a demanding, courageous and playful Master Coach in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the founder of Peak Workout Business Coaching and the Family Business Performance Center. He can be reached at pete@peakcoach.com.
