I was referred to a family business that was having difficulty communicating without feeling personally attacked.  Each of the family members was working in the business . The mother of the owner had requested the meeting.  My first hour with them was spent observing the way they interacted with one another. In some moments the interaction was pretty volatile.

After spending time listening, it was time to move forward. Situations like these can feel overwhelming and stifling to members of the family, I have found that starting with a simple question can move the group into a more open posture where progress can begin.

In this situation, the question I started with was, “On a scale of 1 to 10, ten being the greatest, how much do you like your work?”  No one gave an answer greater than 5, most were 3 or 4.  They had lost their passion for the business, and the family was suffering from it.  It was both comforting and validating for family members to understand that others had similar feelings to theirs and this helped put everyone into a better position for listening and sharing.

As we explored, what we found missing was a solid CORE, defined and owned by everyone.  Several of the siblings were doing a ‘job’.  There was no continuity of talents to promote healthy personal interaction.  It seemed like every statement was an attack on one another.  It was obvious there wasn’t any alignment between a CORE operating process (not well defined) and the talents running the company.  The Owner told me that the company was not growing at all. As a matter of fact, their revenues had been dropping by 10% for the previous two years.

What became evident was that what had gotten the business to this point in its development would not propel it forward. Several essential elements in growing a company are largely dependent on aligning the talents appropriately with the CORE of the business.  Without a defined CORE (the keel to keep the ship in balance) the business will become rudderless and have no clear direction.  With our expanded understanding of the current circumstance, and a commitment to creating a strong CORE that starts with valuing human capital and empowering them appropriately, our work began in earnest and yielded amazing results. 

“How much do you like your work?”
If you asked your team that question, how would they answer?

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Where is the best place to look when something is going wrong in an organization?  My intuitive sense is to look at the talents and skills that the people in the organization possess. Until we explore that concept deeply, we will not know what we really have. 

I’m an advocate of using various assessment tools and resources to look closely at how well a team is aligned around the CORE vision, values and needs of the organization. These tools also help determine whether the skill sets of the human resources are fully supporting those core elements. In simple terms, are the right people in the right positions doing the right things – RIGHT. 

Often in family businesses, this concept may be neglected because a family member needs a job and is given a position without looking entirely at their skill sets, innate talents and interests.  We all know what it is like to hire the wrong person.  It causes all types of havoc, let alone establishes an unfair precedence in leading and managing a staff. And what does the wrong hire cost you when it occurs?

I’m not stating that you should not hire family as part of your corporate team. Family is what your business is largely about. But, you want to make sure the right talents and skill sets are appropriate for the position. The key in hiring family is to take the steps to understanding each member’s innate talents and put them in a position that yields the best possible success for them and for the company. This also includes a learning / education / improvement program that ensures continual growth and development for all the members of the management team (both family and non-family members).  Having the right skill sets to get the job done is as important (and possibly more so) as the tools to accomplish the tasks well and in a timely manner. This is true in all businesses, not just family owned businesses.

Focused COREs with healthy skill sets and talents promote vigorous growth, personally, professionally and financially and allows the operating platform to take on new endeavors without a sense of struggle. Some of the family businesses I work with have made it look effortless when they did the work up front to assemble their human capital to be the construct to their success. They consistently calibrate their organizational structure to their needs for the future.

What are you doing to promote healthy development of your human capital?  

COMPLIMENTARY EXPLORATION

Terry Schaefer offers a complimentary 30 minute call where you can explore how to grow your business past your own expectations.

Schedule Your Call!