Families in Business—The Longer Term Perspective

Abstract

This chapter describes a number of unique characteristics of working with families who own a business together using long term systemic family therapy approaches. I describe those families who are united by family and business links and the complexities and paradoxes that the dual attachment and relationships create for those families and the trusted advisors who work with them. The work involved with families in business requires the longer term view. The relationship between a trusted advisor and the family develops gradually over time in order to allow addressing the root of the problem rather than a “quick fix”. Addressing the longer term needs of a family business require a deep understanding of the profile of individual family members and their interrelationships; the specific needs of the business and its own developmental stage and an awareness of the financial strains of the business on the family and vice versa. In this chapter I describe some of the more salient characteristics and ways of working with families in business together; the complexities they face when they reflect on the dual aspect of their relationships; the misconceptions related to trust; the paradoxes related to meeting deep personal needs at different levels (physical, emotional, spiritual); the demands in the relationship with their business, (some demands are more tangible than others) and the intertwined life long commitment that being a member of a family and business brings.