Family Leadership Strategies

85 Observations • The key to any successful family leadership transition is to acknowledge and develop differing leadership roles that family members play within the family system, and to consider the impact and influence each family member has on achieving key outcomes. • Family leadership roles can be defined by the following five overlapping categories: family leader, family enterprise leader, governance leader, emerging family leader, and informal family leader. • Successful families understand that in a large family involving several siblings and cousins, creating numerous and diverse governance roles is an important way to engage family members, train and develop expertise, promote shared stewardship, and provide essential executive oversight. Tasks • Gather key stakeholders together, start with a small group and discuss the various leadership roles that exist in the family and its enterprises today. Without regard to individual performance, identify who fills those roles and how the role meets the needs of the family. • Reflect on the future of the family as a group identify and discuss key roles that must exist in order to ensure both the financial and family harmony needs of the family are met. Identify gaps and unmet needs. Avoid the temptation to think in terms of who will fill those roles, and focus on the long-term, big picture of the roles themselves.