50 Common Causes of Family Business Conflict... and how to deal with them Archives - Page 4 of 5

Cause #15 Emotional Baggage (not given as a medical opinion)

Observations “Emotional Baggage” refers to unresolved emotional issues that have a detrimental effect on individuals, groups, or organisations. The baggage metaphor suggests carrying around past disappointments, wrongs, and trauma that hold current relationships hostage to negative expectations – based on experiences of long ago. In Article #14: “Parenting Styles” – I observed that the root cause […]

Cause #14 Parenting Styles & Practices

Observations (not given as medical opinions) Many of the root causes of current family business conflicts can be sheeted back to the parenting styles and practices – behaviours and emotional contexts – of the family’s home life, from many years ago. Whether or not there’s any validity to the analysis, in dispute resolution practice it’s […]

Cause #13 Broken Wing Syndrome #3 (Family Business)

Observations Article 11: “Broken Wing Syndrome #1 (Individuals)”, described Emotional Resilience as a person’s ability to cope with, and adapt to, challenging situations. Resilient individuals minimise their anxiety, consciously and unconsciously, to remain personally, socially and vocationally effective. A non-resilient individual is less able to handle challenges and stress, hence their “broken wing”. They require […]

Cause #12 Broken Wing Syndrome #2 (Parents & Family)

Observations Article #11: “Broken Wing Syndrome #1 (Individuals)”, posited that Emotional Resilience is the personal ability to cope with, and adapt to, challenging situations. Hence resilient individuals, both consciously and unconsciously, tend to minimise their anxiety to remain personally, socially and vocationally effective. Broken Wing Syndrome (“BWS”) refers to non-resilient individuals, and specifically to those […]

Cause #11 Broken Wing Syndrome #1 (Individuals)

Observations Excessive protection, and inappropriate amounts of support provided by parents to offspring working in a family business, are common causes of conflict within business families. Emotional Resilience is the personal ability to cope with, and adapt to, challenging situations. Resilient people, consciously and unconsciously, minimise their anxiety levels to remain personally, socially and vocationally […]

Cause #10 Behavioural Discord

Families are always “interesting”, due to dynamic interplays between the diverse personalities that make up the group – as manifested by their behaviours towards each other. Every family develops a unique behavioural style, which evolves as its members age and mature. Resilient families learn to tolerate and accommodate disruptive individual styles; others never learn how […]

Cause #9 Relationship Interplays

Family Business can have a “force multiplier” effect on family relationships, especially when interpersonal relationship issues present in the family, often built over many years of family interactions, are projected or absorbed into the business. Commercial environments provide all the nutrients required to turn historical/personal/domestic niggles into full-blown, competitive, adult conflicts. Weak, strong and/or distorted […]

Cause #8 Divorce & Separation

Australia 2019: 113,815 marriages registered; 49,116 divorces granted. We’re marrying later (32 for males, 30 for females), and more couples are living together for several years before marrying. Consequently, marriages are generally lasting longer, and divorce rates are trending downwards from their peak in the 1970s and 1980s (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2019). The bottom line […]

Cause #7 For want of a Family Plan …

“For want of a nail the shoe was lost, For want of a shoe the horse was lost, For want of a horse the rider was lost, For want of a rider the message was lost, For want of a message the battle was lost, For defeat in battle the kingdom was lost, And all […]

Cause #7 Equal ain’t Equitable

One of the most common causes of family business conflict arises from (innocently) confusing equality (providing equal benefits), with equity (providing fair treatment). On careful analysis, this almost always indicates avoidance of responsibility to exercise discretion towards family members in widely different circumstances, even where most outsiders, and most family members, would think it perfectly […]