Jeff Faulkner

How to Choose a Leader in Sibling Partnerships
September 7, 2007

I once worked with a family in which six 5^th generation cousins were all vying for the CEO role. In a sibling partnership, or group of cousins, it is best to allow the leadership to develop over time. In fact, when the siblings are working well together as a team, they will have no problem developing their own decision making process and leadership system. 

To smooth the way for selecting a leader among siblings, do the following:

1. Improve your understanding of one another’s natural strengths and leadership styles. Use a personality or behavior assessment to help you understand each other better.
2. Improve your communication. You will need open, honest, forthright communication with each other if you are going to be effective.
3. Develop a common vision for where the business is going.
4. Develop a list of the leadership attributes needed to fulfill the vision.
5. Understand the sibling leader is a servant leader with a stewardship responsibility for the family and the family business. The sibling leader must be trustworthy with this role.
6. Develop a clearly defined process for evaluating and selecting the leader.
7. Once a leader has been determined, the rest of the family members should rally around that person with the understanding that his/her success as the leader will depend upon their support.

A popular leadership choice in recent years is the development of co-CEOs. Although this is difficult to pull off successfully, it can be done. For this to work, the following tenets should be adhered to:

• Each family member must be competent, hard-working, and have an attitude of teamwork. If they don’t, tension and frustration will result from the sentiment of “he’s my brother…and he’s heavy.” 
• They must have a shared vision. If they have conflict over the vision of the company, they will go nowhere. 
• They must share values. If their values differ fundamentally, decision making will be hindered.
• They must have clearly defined areas of responsibility. They must be clear on decisions that need to be made as a group and decisions that they have sole responsibility.
• They must have solid relationships exhibiting the ability to navigate conflict successfully.
• Co-CEOs must make decisions together and speak with one voice.

Often it is best for siblings in partnership to be responsible for selecting their own leader. If you follow the above guidelines then selecting a leader or leaders should become a relatively easy process.

Posted by Jeff Faulkner on September 7, 2007 | Comments (0)