Should Your Family Business Seek Outside Leadership?

If you run a small business, you’ve got big responsibilities. You’re probably responsible for staffing, marketing, logistics, and administrative tasks such as making sure your business is fully protected by a solid Orlando Small Business Insurance policy. If you run a family business, you probably endure added stresses related to managing family conflicts and treading lightly so you don’t hurt relatives’ feelings. According to The University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business, between 10% and 15% of U.S. family firms are managed by non-family executives. Should your family business seek outside leadership? That depends.

How Dysfunctional is Your Family?

Just as some families are dysfunctional, so are some family businesses. Do your employees treat one another with respect – or spend the workday bickering? Is the at-work atmosphere toxic and explosive or positive and professional? If familial tensions are affecting employees’ abilities to do their jobs effectively, bringing in an outsider may reverse that. Adding a non-relative to the leadership team will add a level of professionalism. The dynamic usually shifts when family members know an “outsider” is listening and evaluating their performance.

Outside Input Can Bring Fresh Perspective and New Ideas

The longer a family business stays in business, the greater the risk that complacency will set in. Knowing that their jobs are secure because family is unlikely to fire family, there may be no real incentive to innovate. If things are moving along “just fine,” an all-family cast of characters may share an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. The danger in this line of thinking is that while your family business is comfortable staying the same, your competitors may be doing innovating and chipping away at your customer base. An outsider will look at your business with fresh eyes and insights those too close to the status quo may fail to have on their own.

Running a small business, whether it is a family affair or not, is challenging. At Newman Crane & Associates Insurance, we can put your mind at ease about one of those challenges: a solid insurance policy. Call us at (407) 859-3691 for a free quote.

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