By.
Dr. Denise Federer
The statistics regarding the longevity of family
businesses are sobering to say the least; very few of them make it past the
second generation and even less are still around for the third generation.
Speculation as to why this occurs is all over the map, but as a family business
advisor, it centers on leadership development, something that’s often
overlooked in family businesses.
Leadership Skills Vs Technical Skills
In the corporate world, training programs abound
that prepare future leaders to assume the mantle of responsibility. That’s
usually not the case in a family business, where “training” may consist solely
of gaining technical expertise, i.e., how to make widgets, failing to address
the critical skill set required to engage and lead others in making widgets.
It’s not uncommon for owners to begin
introducing their children to the family business at a young age, providing
them with technical nuts and bolts and assuming they’ll be ready to lead at
some point in the future. As a family business advisor, I always recommend that
next-generation leaders of a family business begin their careers elsewhere, to
gain education about leadership that will be invaluable down the line, but that
doesn’t always happen.
A Leadership Development Plan
A great way for family businesses to support the
leadership development needs of their future leaders is to hire a business
executive coach. This external resource — someone who has significant
experience working with family businesses — can be invaluable in ensuring that
the members of the next generation have the strong voices that are necessary to
get people to follow them.
Unlike coaches in the sports world, who help
athletes be their best by teaching them on- and off-field skills, business
executive coaches focus solely on ensuring that future leaders have the
non-technical skills they need to be successful. These are often called “soft
skills,” but there’s nothing warm and fuzzy about them. Since many people
aren’t born leaders, and putting someone without leadership skills in charge
can jeopardize a family business, the knowledge imparted by an expert coach is
worth its weight in gold.
Identify Your Leadership Style
One of the most important things any leader must
do is identify the type of leadership style that best suits them, but many
people don’t have the ability to do that alone. Working with a business
executive coach, future family business leaders can determine whether they want
to be a leader who is:
·
Autocratic or authoritative
·
Delegative or laissez-faire
·
Participative or democratic leader
Once the decision about leadership style is
made, it becomes clearer how to create a vision, determine values, and successfully
influence others. It’s all about being intentional about leadership style,
rather than following someone else’s lead or floundering to find the right
voice.
Find the Right Business Executive Coach
How do you find the right business executive
coach? It’s important that the person’s experience matches the needs of the
family business and he/she is able to quickly develop rapport with family
members. The best bet is to ask owners of other family businesses if they’ve
had someone help them who they would recommend.
With the right coach on board, amazing progress
in the area of leadership development is possible — and family businesses stand
a better chance of surviving for the long term.
About Dr. Denise Federer:
Clinical psychologist and executive coach Dr. Denise P. Federer is the
founder and principal of Federer Performance Management Group, LLC. As a family business advisor, Dr. Federer has extensive experience
providing guidance to leading U.S. firms and their executives and in private
practice as a psychotherapist to couples, families and individuals—an intense
focus that has led to her interest and expertise in peak performance
coaching and in the unique dynamics of closely held and family-owned businesses.