Exposing Silent Barriers

Exposing Silent Barriers

Being able to effectively expose, diagnose, and resolve emotionally charged issues within the dynamic of a business-family can be a daunting task. In this section we highlight the importance of creating a safe and constructive process for addressing the sensitive issues – ‘the elephant in the room’ – so that family-business conflict resolution can be achieved and sustained.

Among Your Business Owning Family Members Have You Noticed?

  • Parents don’t trust son/daughter’s ability to make sound business decisions.
  • Siblings are being excluded from important business decisions that will eventually determine their future.
  • There is bitterness about the way family employees are promoted.
  • Gossip about the lifestyle of other family members threatens family harmony.
  • Hurt feelings about past events keep cousins separate and angry.
  • Controlling and meddlesome family member employees stifle team-work and leadership.
  • Rivalry among sibling employees undermines future of the business.
  • Favoritism pits one cousin against the other.
  • Senior family members hold power over the family community.
  • Long-standing in-law jealousies prevent cooperation.
  • The founder-CEO is withholding information about the future of the business from and his or her adult children.

An answer of “yes” to any of these accounts signals that Silent Barriers may be undermining your business potential and/or relations with business-owning family members.

Silent Barriers are the unconscious or unspoken, often highly charged, emotional undercurrents – anger, jealousy, fear – that result in conflict-producing behaviours such as blame, hostility, disrespect, and other counterproductive actions.

The cost of ignoring silent barriers can be high. Through practical and proven processes, tactics, and tools we work with you to diagnose and prescribe remedies to minimize or eliminate the impact of silent barriers so that business-family members are able to effectively work together to ensure the continuity of their business and enduring harmony in their families.