In honor of National Siblings Day, I thought it might be good to give all of you siblings out there a few questions to ponder.
I’ve seen some really great sibling relationships that are smooth, healthy and strong within a family and family business. Those relationships are more the exception than the norm.
Most of us experience challenges and frustrations with our siblings, and those challenges can cause significant heartburn or heartache within the family or the family business.
I lost two brothers by the time I was 25 years old. As I listen to people’s complaints about their siblings I think to myself, “You should find a way to be grateful for the siblings you have.”
Whatever your sibling relationship is, I encourage you to consider these questions.
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What would happen if you were able to focus more on your sibling’s strengths than their weaknesses?
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Have you ever considered telling your sibling how much you appreciate them? What impact might that have on them?
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If you asked your sibling to do one thing differently for you or your family business what would it be?
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Have you ever considered practicing acceptance with your sibling, accepting them with all their imperfections?
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Have you ever considered the value of repetition and consistency – like having lunch with them once a week or once a month and just building a relationship?
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Have you considered life’s too short to spend your entire career working with someone you just don’t respect or like?
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Can you think of new ways of communicating with your sibling that takes into account their personality or work style?
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Have you thought about how your behaviors may be contributing to your sibling relationship?
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Have you ever considered how your sibling relationship is affecting the rest of the family or the business? What could it mean if you could improve the relationship?
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Are you willing to invest more time in having a decent relationship? Have you thought about what a poor relationship is costing you energetically?
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Have you ever thought about how it might feel if your children don’t get along and don’t have a decent relationship? What would you say to them or ask them to consider?
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Have you ever considered forgiving them and moving on?
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Have you ever considered accepting who they chose as their life partner? What about finding a way to forge a decent relationship with their significant other? What could a better in-law relationship mean to the family?
As you ponder these questions and need a bit of advice or guidance on how to implement them, contact me, I’d like to support you in your journey.
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.
