Can the family that works together live together? That was the question during a recent workshop on sibling rivalry and intergenerational conflict in family business sponsored by the University of New Hampshire's Center for Family Business.
Stephen Fink, UNH Professor of organizational behavior and a clinical psychologist, pointed out, "If things aren't working out, you can always leave a job and go to another company. You can't leave a family." Fink led the discussion, assisted by Stacy Feiner, a doctoral intern at the UNH Counseling Center and a member of a family business.
The world of relationships in family businesses is complex. Fractured relationships in a family business carry with them emotional as well as financial costs.
What each family business has in common is a work place where the boss is a father or mother, the vice president a daughter or son, the manager a brother or sister, or variations on that theme. And according to Fink, when the business meeting degenerates into a family spat more typical of a dining room than a boardroom. Family members have to take some actions.
Finks explains that family members who work together can avoid conflict by defining roles, i.e. deciding who does what. And if those roles change, there will be business and family implications. An older sibling who yields the reins to a younger sibling or a father who steps down in favor of a child may not realize that move could have at-home ramifications.
The key is communication. Like a family working out a problem sitting around the dinner table, family members in business together have to be honest about their problems, expectations and plans for the future.
