When Siblings Collide-June 2014

When Siblings Collide I love working with family owned businesses. The hard work and dedication of the owners is contagious and when you are around them, you get caught up in their excitement and optimism. That entrepreneurial spirit was, and continues to be, the foundation of so many of today’s largest corporations. But what happens when a family member who has never before participated in the family business and has no leadership experience, decides that he or she wants to be part of the executive team? The sister of the company president where I was consulting decided she would like to be part of the family business. The business was started by their father many years ago and she had never before worked there in any capacity. Unfortunately for her brother, she became bored after spending many years raising her family and now that the kids were gone, decided she wanted to become a business executive. I witnessed firsthand the turmoil the president was going through. Here was his baby sister who he loved and respected and who was a part owner of the business wanting to get more involved. On the other hand, knowing his sister had neither the personality nor the experience to hold a leadership role, he felt like he was being forced into a situation he knew would not be healthy for his executive team or the company. In the end, he decided to give it a try. He suggested she take a role in marketing where she could use her creative ability to help the company drive more business. But his sister pleaded for a more functional role and so she was placed in charge of the production area that generated the majority of the revenue for the company. Her lack of knowledge about the production process, coupled with her tendency to avoid making decisions was a recipe for disaster. The members of the executive team were barraged by complaints from managers and workers alike about the sister’s failures and finally the COO himself went to the president seeking his help and intervention. As difficult as it was, he explained to his sister that her continued participation in the leadership of the company could not continue risking both the company’s performance and the potential loss of key members of the team. To her credit, she confessed her frustration and agreed that the best thing for all concerned was for her to explore opportunities outside the family business. She has since obtained her real estate license and is doing quite well. The business has recovered and fortunately all of the key staff members were retained. In speaking with the president him after her departure, he told me that this was the first time he had to face his conflicting responsibilities as a business owner and a commitment to his family. He knew his sister could not be successful in the role but he could think of no graceful way to say no to her request. In the end, she demonstrated great humility in admitting she couldn’t do the job and her greatest fear was doing something to hurt the company her father had built so long ago. He learned through this event that protecting the family legacy was far more important to his siblings than bruising a few egos. At a recent staff meeting the president joked that his older brother had sold his business and was looking for something to do. Not surprisingly, no one laughed.