Kids and the family business
There has been a lot of talk around the socials regarding family, business and communication. It got us thinking about the next generation and how we can support, encourage and build resilience while involving them in our family businesses. Ensuring that they have a healthy, safe and positive experience, that also enriches and equips them for later in their life. We came across this excellent article and thought we would share it with you.
Promote active experimentation: The world that we live in is unpredictable and is becoming even more so. Next generation members should have the opportunity and capacity to learn through active experimentation — testing hypotheses and trying something out to see if it works builds the belief that “I can figure it out.” Sure, parents, who have more experience, might be able to predict the outcome, but saving next generation members from the “trouble” of finding out on their own will only promote an external locus of control.
Embrace failure: I once asked a group of family business leaders how they use their wealth to “help” the next generation. One parent responded that wealth is used to increase the likelihood of success. Phrased that way, the effort sounds positive, but what if I flip that around and say that wealth is used to decrease, or eliminate, the possibility of failure? If resilience is the ability to recover from difficulty, how is it practiced in the absence of failure? How will the next generation believe they are resilient and capable if every obstacle is removed?
Identify multiple solutions: The impact of failure on locus of control depends on how the next generation responds to failure when it happens. Helping next generation members to consistently identify multiple possible solutions to any problem can support development of an internal locus of control. With only a single solution, a failure represents the end and a feeling of inevitability. With multiple solutions, a failure becomes one idea that did not work out. The simple question: What are you going to try next? or What is your next idea? can help next gen members to focus on their reaction to the outcome rather than on the outcome itself.
Avoid micromanagement: Building an internal locus of control in the next generation requires parents to give up some of their own control. Still, functioning families and family businesses require a certain level of structure. Parents working with the next generation risk promoting an external locus of control when oversight emphasizes tight control over every aspect of the process (process control). Instead, parents should focus on the desired outcome by providing clear direction to the next generation regarding expected results, but allowing them to use their own ingenuity to figure out how to get there (outcome control). This approach builds an internal locus of control without compromising high standards or expectations.
As parents, we often feel that what we say or what we do will most impact what our children believe and how they behave. My research indicates instead that it is the experiences that parents provide the next generation that truly influence who they are. Understanding this, business families wishing to build resilience in the next generation should focus on providing experiences that support an internal locus of control, or the confidence that they, not external factors, have control over outcomes in their lives. When it comes to parenting the next generation, a reduced emphasis on telling and a greater focus on providing learning experiences can make all the difference.