Family Matters

Did you know that only 30% of family businesses successfully make it to a second generation? Most dissolve because of friction, avoidable misunderstandings, and mishandling of the transition. This low rate of success in transitioning to the next generation is why establishing a comprehensive and well thought out succession plan is critical for the long-term, multi-generational success of a family-run business.

I think it’s safe to say that most people want to have a meaningful impact on the world. But what if you don’t quite know how to articulate and then pursue that desire? An Executive Coach can help you find and define your purpose.

Whether or not we are consciously aware of it, communication is revealed through our body language as well as our speech. When sharing a physical space, we pick up on cues we have been learning to read since childhood. For many of us, it’s second nature to notice the intense tone in someone’s voice and know they are feeling upset or to observe hunched shoulders and a lowered head and know someone is feeling uncomfortable. Our brain adds up these nonverbal cues and uses that understanding to decide how to respond. All of this while the person on the other side of our conversation is doing exactly the same thing.

While there is no "I" in team, you better bet that "knowing thyself" is perhaps the most important (and often overlooked) element of a team. When a team leader is unable to establish clear guidelines and expectations for their team, a host of ills can plague the team – including mission creep and a lack of role definition.

Even in the best of times, it is useful to have an executive coach for guidance, encouragement, and focus. In difficult times, though, the importance of coaching can be critical. Tasks, which at any other time would be so simple and second nature, may now require complete reimagining. Strategic plans need to be rethought. Entire offices shifted to home workplaces and back again with entirely new and necessary safety regulations.

The rules of the C-suite are being rewritten under the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially evident as corporate leadership is grappling with internal succession planning.

Even without a constant influx of difficult news and a landscape that is uncertain, it isn’t easy to run a family business. During a global pandemic that is rewriting every rule in the book, it can feel like it’s impossible at times. No one has all the answers to navigating a business in a pandemic, but I do think one way we get through this is to focus on resilience. The good news is that family businesses are already more resilient than most. There are unique challenges they must overcome in a good economy, which better prepares them with the resilience necessary to succeed in challenging times.

As we begin to make moves toward the new normal, businesses will need to plan and reconfigure spaces that accommodate their employees’ new social practices and ways of working. This shift may include simple every day practices, but may also include redesigning work spaces and adopting design practices that are common in healthcare facilities.

Being an effective communicator requires a good amount of bravery. It is not always easy to say the hard thing, deliver unwelcome news, or simply say that you are uncertain of the future. But right now, employees and stakeholders are looking to corporate leaders for assurances and ideas for a way forward.

After all, you are offering up your baby – your business! – to a stranger. But the right coach will give you invaluable expertise from a neutral outside perspective that will ensure your organization, your career, and you are as successful as can be. So, you might ask, what exactly can an executive coach do for you?

More and more companies are offering remote opportunities, and some have shifted entirely to telework. Studies have shown us that telework can be incredibly beneficial for both employers and employees. It expands the talent pool, increases productivity, and even saves employers money. With all the potential benefits offered by the remote workplace, it is important to continue to maintain a healthy, positive company culture.

COVID-19 has impacted businesses in a myriad of ways, but what I am hearing collectively from owners and executives is how busy they are as a result of this pandemic. It has upended the way they typically do business.