Leading a family business

Hi, I'm Dr. Natalie and today we're talking about leadership in family businesses. Family business is an interesting area because we have so many of them in Africa and yet it's not something that's formally taught. But. And yet sometimes the skill set or the way to approach things has to be slightly different from the way it's handled in a regular business. So I have three tips for you. The first is always make sure you assign a role to each member of the family. I understand that this can be challenging because with regular companies the structure shows which are the roles that need to be filled and then you fill them. And yet with a family business, you have all these family members who you just have to fit into the business. But, but it still really helps to have a clearly defined role for each person and even a job description. Have KPIs make sure you're showing everyone what I expect of you so that it's clear you have to manage expectations within your team. So whether they're a family member or not, you still need to make sure everyone knows what they are responsible for and what someone else is. You don't want the situation where there's too many people trying to control a situation because that's how you start to clash. But you also don't want them to say, oh, I thought this one was doing it, I thought that one was doing it and it doesn't get done. So make sure you define the roles clearly and you make it clear to everyone on the team, family or non family, this is this person's responsibility. So when they make the decision, everyone must respect it. When they have a project or something, this is what they have to get done. This is how we're going to measure whether they are good at their job or not. Because a company still has to run whether you're a family member or not. You still need to pull your own weight and you still need to make sure you're doing what you are meant to do in that business, not that you're helping your cousin here. Then you went to this branch, then you decided this week, I'm working on this project. If you work like that, it becomes chaotic and it affects other people. Then the company can't move forward in a smooth way. Which also brings me to my next tip. You have to respect each other's roles. So everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. And in the family business, you can't hire for a role. So you can't say this is the person, the HR job description. And, and we're going to Find someone who fits this job description perfectly. You already have a family member, they have strengths in that area. So now they are working as the hr. So let's see how to support them. Let's see how to respect what they do and how they make their work happen. Whether they need to do extra training, whether they have done something that works for the company or doesn't. It's not about blaming the person or seeing what they can do or use the most of their networks only. It's about seeing how do we respect their contribution to the company. Make sure that you've tried to fit everyone in the right role and now you are supporting them in that role. You need to make sure that they have all the information that they need. You can't say we gave them the job. We left him those two shops to manage and now he has run them down. You just left them to him. He has no management experience. How is he supposed to figure it out? Did you give him instructions? Targets, deadlines, any kind of scope of what his job was? You also have to empower people to succeed, especially in your family business, because the fallout if they fail is so much worse. You can't just terminate the person and move on to the next. It affects so many other people. So you have to make sure you empower people with what they need. I've seen families where they don't pay their family members who work in the business. How do you expect them to do their jobs with dignity, with taking it seriously? You need to make sure people are compensated. They have a clear role. They know what they're supposed to do. They show up to work on time. Don't be like, oh, that's the boss's son. He can come at midday. Nah, working since morning. Don't we need the things done? You have to see what is needed in the company and then support the person to match that. Yes, you have this role. Because you are a family member doesn't mean the role doesn't need to be done properly. So let's support you and make sure whatever you are bringing out in that role, we are listening, we are responding, we're doing it. Many family members, especially young ones, get frustrated. They just give them some role which isn't even really a real title, a real job. Just put them in the corner, on a desk. As long as they have someone to show up every day and they get demoralized. They're not listened to, they're not respected, no one cares what they're working on. They give them nonsense projects. It's not right. You can. You're losing an asset. Family members are still useful in the business. They still have strengths, they still can bring things. So it's about matching the role and then empowering them to succeed in that role. Because if you have all these family members working in your business and everyone is doing a great job, guess what? That's amazing. That's the goal. That's like having a company where you've hired the perfect people to make the perfect team to make sure the company is moving forward, which is still the goal in a family business. Doesn't mean you change what that desired outcome is. You just have to see how to maneuver within to get to that desired outcome. So support family members in their roles and respect them. And make sure they respect the role too. If you take it seriously, they take it seriously. Match that energy together. And that's why you need to agree on the expectations, on the role, on the responsibility. So that everyone is on the same page and everyone is doing their best. The last thing I would say is when it comes to challenges, it's much more difficult to manage the conflicts because of the history of the family. But you should try and focus on the facts and do problem solving, not blaming. Shouting. You always did this. Even when you were 12, you shouted at me like this. Even when you are 16, you still uncle so and so is this. We can never trust you. It doesn't help. That's not useful. You're just wasting energy and burning the bridge. Family members, it's much more difficult to work with. And you can't just get rid of each other. It hurts the company, it hurts the family. You don't want to get to that stage. So try and focus on facts and moving forward. Okay? This happened. Yes, yes, yes. It is not good. What happened? There was a robbery. You lost the money. This broke. This didn't work. The project failed. The event was a flop. Whatever it was. Okay, let's focus on the facts. What went wrong? Was it. We didn't have the resources, we didn't plan well, we didn't advertise. It was the wrong team members. What went wrong? Facts. Not. This one always says this. This one's attitude is bad. This one did that. Facts. What actually happened? What went wrong? How do we prevent this from happening again in the future? How do we solve this problem? Yes. Now the client is annoyed because you did this. We didn't deliver on time. How do we solve the problem? Not blame. Blame. Shout. Shout. I mean I mentoring your mother and tell her we can't keep you in the company. You're so difficult. People have all kinds of crazy fights and family businesses, but it doesn't help. You have to be able to rise above that and focus on what's important in the moment. If there is more personal stuff going on underneath, fine, you will deal with that. But first focus on the facts. What is the challenge at hand? What is the task that needs to still get done and make sure you fix it? Problem solve first. Once the problem is solved, the client is happy. We've now figured out how to make this happen and make sure we don't have these problems in the past. And then you can have a private family meeting about, okay, why does this keep happening? Are you going through something? Is this in your personality? Is, is it because of working with us? Why is this happening? Let's try and understand each other. Let's see how we can prevent this from happening. Let's make sure you are happy and you are doing what you want and you're respected in your role and you're respecting the role and we value you as a team member. You can have those conversations in private afterwards. First, focus on facts and problem solving, not personal issues, not emotions. Breathe, be calm. And this shows leadership because it's not easy, especially when things are heated. Especially when you're dealing with a family member. You know so much more about them than you'd ever know about a regular employee. There's so many more old stories and old emotions that are already attaching you in that relationship. So this is a family member you've been fighting with since you were five years old and now you're going to fight at work. Is that really the best option? You have to be able to rise above it and see the facts. And it's hard. I'm not saying it's easy. It is hard. I struggle with this. I know my family members struggle with this. I've talked to different women who struggle with this. It's hard, but it's necessary. Because what is the alternative? You stop the business? There's a reason that family business exists. You want it to work and you can't be fighting with each other constantly. You need to find a system that works. You need to be able to have these conversations in a fact based way. And let's first solve the problem. We can go home later and can shout with each other until we figure out a solution. We cry, we hug, we move forward. But first, when you're thinking about the business, you need to be focusing on facts and problem solving? How do we get out of this situation? Not blame, not you. Go and do it, because that's your mess. You figure it out. Let us see what we can do together. Because it affects all of us. As angry as you might be in that moment, if this business doesn't work, if this client leaves you, if this thing comes out publicly, you all suffer. So first, focus on facts. Figure out what you need to figure out. Then you can go and fight internally until you figure out a solution. That is what I would advise you for family businesses.