Responsibility should be a cornerstone of your family’s development plan. If you think about it, at the end of the day every family needs people who demonstrate the ability to be responsible members of the family.
Too often nowadays people lose sight of the notion of personal responsibility. I was listening to a podcast this week and hearing the speaker talk about “learned helplessness” in some places in our society. Some folks seem to have fallen into the trap of not being able to take responsibility for their life. They spend time blaming others for their struggles.
When I think about responsibility in the context of a family and a family business I think about taking responsibility for:
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Your own personal happiness
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Your results in your profession and your personal life
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Your ability to honor the family legacy in how you carry yourself in life
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Your own education and development as a person
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Bringing new ideas and value to the family
In some family business families, people get focused on what they “deserve.” Also, they focus on what they want to get out of the family and the family business.
It’s like the classic John F. Kennedy quote, “Ask not what your country (family) can do for you… ask what you can do for your country (family).”
The family coach needs to shine a light on the need for personal responsibility and help everyone in the family build that muscle. A family that has a group of highly responsible people will also have a group of highly effective people and a more sustainable and successful future.
Your family needs to learn how to talk about responsibility and what it looks like in action. It also needs to help family members who are struggling to learn how to be responsible citizens and support them in their development.
If you are a family coach bring this subject to your next family gathering. Have some dialogue about what “being responsible” looks like in your family. A good coach will also help participants explore what gets in the way of being more responsible.
Responsibility is one of the 10 core skills in the Family Business Decathlon coaching and development system. Email me if you would like to learn more about how the system will give you and your family a step-by-step approach to creating a stronger, winning family business team.
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.
