Family dynamics can be extremely frustrating and hard to deal with – I get it! But too often, family members can use the “family dynamics” card as a convenient excuse for not performing like strong business professionals.
One of the most common family business challenges is learning how to perform at a high level consistently. Part of every family’s performance improvement plan should be to agree upon what it means to be a high-level business professional.
High-level business professionals create the following results on a consistent basis:
- Being on time
- Doing what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it
- Taking initiative, not waiting for others to instruct them
- Setting their own goals and following through on them to completion
- Getting things done without excuses
- Creating high-level bottom-line business results year in and year out
It’s really important for successful family businesses to create a culture of accountability across. Many family businesses gravitate toward loyalty and work tenure as important hallmarks of their family business success. Loyalty and long-term employment are wonderful attributes but they shouldn’t become excuses for tolerating poor performance.
Rather than use family business conflict as an excuse, the family needs to focus on the results they’re trying to produce and be courageous in rooting out poor performance and excuse making. A family can learn how to deal with conflict in a safe and productive way that builds a culture of accountability and helps lead the family business to long-term success.
When I come across excuse making about family dynamics I gently remind the family business participants that human dynamics are involved in every business. They could have very similar personality clashes and style differences working in corporate America. Yes, the family dynamic adds and additional layer to the people dynamics but it’s not a “get out of jail free card” for poor performance!
Family Business Coaching System
At Family Business Performance Center we’ve developed and tested a series of simple exercises that will help make sure your family is exploring the critical topics and building the skills that lead to long-term success for your family and your business! The system is designed so it can be tailored to meet your family’s unique circumstances.
Learn more: https://www.familybusinessperformance.com/family-coaching-system
