Where work and family overlap.
WHY IT IS DISTINCT
Disagreements carry family history, and they cannot be ended by leaving.
WHAT CAUSES IT
Unclear roles between family members Family members treated differently from other staff Succession uncertainty Differences between generations Ownership and reward unrelated to contribution Family disputes entering the business
WHY ROLE CLARITY MATTERS MOST
Family members frequently have no defined role, and everyone assumes different things.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Defined roles, responsibilities and reporting, for family members as for anyone.
WHAT TO ADDRESS
Whether family members are held to the same standards.
WHY
Non-family staff observe it, and it determines whether they stay.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
That performance expectations apply to everyone.
WHAT TO SEPARATE
Ownership from employment Reward for working from return on ownership
WHY
Conflating them produces disputes about whether someone is paid for their work or their shareholding.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT SUCCESSION
Intentions, communicated.
WHY
Uncertainty about succession produces conflict among those affected by it.
WHAT TO AVOID
Leaving it unaddressed because it is uncomfortable Different informal assurances to different people
WHY THAT SECOND POINT
It is discovered and it is destructive.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Forums that separate family matters from business matters.
WHY
Business decisions taken in family settings exclude non-family staff and confuse both.
WHAT TO CONSIDER
An independent adviser or non-family director.
WHY
An outside view is difficult to dismiss as taking sides.
WHAT TO DOCUMENT
Agreements about roles, ownership and succession.
