Dysfunctional Family Dynamics Can Strangle The Pathways To Growth

Multi-unit franchising provides the opportunity to build something, be your own boss, and generate opportunities for others. As you design your strategy, recruit your team, create your culture, and string one success after another, it becomes very easy to reflect on those who help build your business as family. Families are diverse, they come in various shapes and sizes, including those you share DNA with and those you have bonded with and view as family. Whether you work with DNA family or not, you have a family business.

Familial relationships are developed over time and repetition. With history and repetition, also comes behavior patterns, expectations, and perceptions. At its best, a family business is a beautiful combination of communication and collaboration built upon a foundation of mutual respect and accountability. At its worst, family business falls prey to dysfunctional behavior patterns such as giving the silent treatment, bullying one another, and grinding over emotionally driven exchanges. The “norm” or behavioral dynamic between long-term partners and team members can create toxic consequences to relationships, productivity, and teamwork.

When the balance between family and business is off-center, it stresses the business and your personal life. Many of you experience ineffective communication and unreasonable expectations daily. What is often tolerated under the heading “it is what it is,” becomes accepted as standard operating procedure and ultimately becomes a wrecking ball to business performance. Dysfunctional dynamics strangle pathways towards growth, demoralize employees, erode business value, and deplete financial resources.

The good news is that there are resources to help. Getting guidance from others who have been down this road before can prevent you from creating unnecessary trauma for the family and the business. You can start by practicing the following strategies to create more positive business dynamics and protect your financial future.

1. Communicate

Based upon your culture, this may require coaching on different communication strategies. A qualified facilitator can provide helpful (and tested) techniques, forums, and governance strategies. They can also help you practice and offer guidelines for productive interaction until mutual trust, respect, and collaboration become second nature.

2. Tune into what others value

Beliefs can change, but core values stand the test of time – understanding and respecting what your family members, key leaders, and employees value most positions you to bridge almost any relational divide.

3. Take responsibility for your behavior and communication

You can’t control others, but you can control how you listen, connect, and respond.

4. Practice the Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

• Be Impeccable With Your Word
• Don’t Take Anything Personally 
• Don’t Make Assumptions
• Always Do Your Best

5. Discuss complex topics when connectivity is high

Working with business owners for almost half a century, we have witnessed first-hand the impact of developing strategies to enhance communication in the business and its effect on business value and financial welfare. The value of your business is directly dependent on the probability that the success of the business can and will continue.

Successfully integrating new units or new brands to your portfolio or thriving through challenges like Covid, all requires succession strategies to succeed through transition. Succession planning is all about building strategies to overcome any challenge threatening the success of your business. Effectively scaling for growth, integrating family, franchisor PR fiascos, and mandates are just a few key succession issues many franchisees overlook.

See what issues may be impacting your vision for growth by answering these questions for yourself. Another excellent opportunity for growing your business is to make sure you attend the upcoming Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in March. Stop by our booth #342 to discuss strategies for achieving your vision.

Kendall Rawls knows and understands the challenges that impact the success of an entrepreneurial-owned business. Her unique perspective comes not only from her educational background but, more importantly, from her experience as a second-generation family member employee of The Rawls Group - Business Succession Planners. For more information, visit www.rawlsgroup.com or email info@rawlsgroup.com