Most business families we work with have a common and solvable problem – poor communication habits that have been ingrained in the family over a long period of time. These poor communication habits lead to:
- misunderstandings
- avoiding conflict
- inability to problem solve together
- unclear vision and focus for the family
What happens next amazes me. It’s as if they resign themselves to another 100 years of poor communication habits. A family member says, “Yeah, we never have been good communicators in this family – and probably never will be (good communicators).”
This doesn’t have to be the case! When a family makes a conscious effort to become effective communicators it can significantly and positively alter the course of the family as well as the family business.
Language is one of the most essentials tools we have as human beings. Yet we take little time and pay little attention to building stronger communication skills. The family needs to commit these resources to building better communication skills.
Think of language and communication as the backbone of the whole family system. With strong communication skills the family can:
- truly collaborate on a family vision
- articulate their expectations for each other
- deal with conflict in a productive way
Think of learning powerful communication skills like learning a new language. Learning a new language is not only good for your brain (it challenges it to grow), it will make you a stronger and more productive player in every area of your life. For example, if you were trying to learn French on your own vs. getting all your friends to learn it and practice it together — get the picture? When a whole family starts to learn new communications skills, we see a dramatic, positive shift in the family interactions.
Don’t resign yourself and your family to poor communication habits! See powerful communication as a path to new and healthier ways of interacting as a family. We know people can learn new skills when given the proper training in the right environment. Every family needs a leader or group of leaders who want more for the family in the future. That future should start today.
Not quite sure if your family are good communicators? – Check out our list of Top 10 Communication Mistakes.
