Communication.  Regular and continuing. You can implement this helpful process for your family to work together, find common ground and move the succession plan forward for your family and its family enterprise.  Not talking to each other does not achieve much…

This is one facet of an overall family enterprises’ strategy to help families construct the foundation to make the business and more importantly, the family, stronger.

Create the opportunity for regular family meetings as this gives you opportunity and your family members to have a communication forum where ideas, thoughts and concerns can be exchanged and discussed in a safe and supportive environment.

Why have family meetings? To improve:

– communication
– working collaboratively, and
– the family members’ inclusivity

From my experience with many families, holding a family meeting without first setting the rules for the meeting can be hazardous to achieve a meeting’s objectives. Entering the room for a family meetings are individuals’ feelings, baggage and often plenty of emotion. These feelings and related emotions are often difficult to rein in. However to keep the meeting productive, it is the duty of the chair (or suggested facilitator, in potentially heated discussions) to outline to the participants at the outset, the meeting rules.

Here are some best practices for those rules:

– Respect. Use respectful language
– Opinions. Each participant is allowed an equal voice
– Confidentiality. What is said in the room, stays in the room
– Decisions made. A decision made by the group will be supported by the group outside of the meeting, even if the individual has a differing view on the decision

For some family meetings, going through these meeting rules at the beginning of each meeting can help to avoid misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

Learn, think, apply!