One of my greatest joys coaching families is to see a whole family come together around a table and talk about the family business. You can see all of the hopes, dreams and history of the family in one room. You hear about what came before and get glimpses of what is to come in the future for the business.
Surprisingly though, most families aren’t quite sure where to start and how to conduct a successful family meeting. Due to this apprehension, many families just don’t conduct the meeting, thus robbing the family of a real opportunity for collaboration and building the future of the family business.
Many families have discomfort trying to “please all of the people all of the time” so the thought of a family meeting is filled with anxiety about how to successfully conduct the meeting.
In coaching, one of the fundamental tenets we teach is about what we call generous listening. A great family meeting happens when you can get everyone in the room and ask a few of the right questions and then simply sit back and listen. Okay, some times a facilitator or coach can bring out the shy people in the room and gently manage the people who won’t be quiet and find the right balance of talking and listening.
In our deliberate practice, How to Conduct a Great Family Meeting, we give you some simple step by step instructions that will enable you to not only have a successful family meeting, but also have a greater sense of hope and optimism for the future of the family and the business.
To gain free access to this and all of our other deliberate practices click here.
