Working with family can be both challenging and rewarding. However, tensions can build if clearly defined roles and responsibilities are not established for each person. The good news is there are ways to navigate the tricky waters.
The Center for Dairy Excellence offers a library of family business resources to help producers successfully manage their operations. One of the webinars addresses how to effectively manage the intersection, overlap and boundaries of three areas: ownership, management and family.
“It’s typical for families to blur these boundaries, which can contribute to disfunction in the business and within the family,” according to Rob Skacel, PhD business psychologist with True Edge Performance Solutions.
Implement Communication Structures
Here’s a look at how members of a family farm team should structure meetings with the three areas in mind, according to The Center for Dairy Excellence’s toolkit, Building the Bridge: The People Side of Dairying:
Ownership Meetings
Ownership related issues should be limited to the following:
- Acquisitions (land, equipment, buildings, etc.)
- Admission of new owners
- Owner exits
- Distributions
Skacel stresses the importance of voting at the ownership (shareholder) level and then speaking with one voice to the management team. “The will of the owner should be expressed as a group, not as individuals,” he says.
Management Meetings
Those at the management level are accountable to the ownership group. “Being a shareholder, in and of itself, does not give you any particular authority in the management realm,” Skacel says.
Management communication should be centered around business matters and supporting individuals at the organizational, team/unit and individual levels.
“In the management structure, you really don’t want anyone to have more than one boss, which leads to confusion,” he adds.
Family Meetings
These types of meetings might include other family members, regardless of their direct involvement with the farm. Some action items Skacel recommends for family meetings include:
- Clarify values and expectations.
- Address areas of tension or conflict
- Establish a family creed.
- Determine pathways for involvement with the farm.
- Develop approaches to governance, estate planning and or succession planning.
- Manage the five Cs: control, careers, capital, conflict and culture.
You should only operate within one meeting structure at a time and it’s important you’re aware of which role you’re functioning in at any point in time, Skacel emphasizes.
If organized intentionally, the farm business will make it possible for family members to pursue rewarding careers on or off the farm without feeling pressure.
Establish Roles and Planning Processes
Building a strong foundation will improve and sustain the business and the family. Establishing clear roles within the group provides:
- Easier decision-making
- A sound family communication process
- Encouragement for next-generation farmers
- Clarity around expectations, especially pertaining to finances and ownership
Recognizing everyone’s area of passion and expertise is a great start to establishing roles.
“Successful farm families provide opportunities for everyone involved to specialize in something or pursue interests individually as well as a whole family,” says Abby Heidenreich, agriculture and natural resources educator for Purdue Extension’s Farm Stress Team.
“Giving each other the space to be themselves and find what makes them happy on the farm is more valuable than you realize.”
A Family That Farms Together Makes Comprises to Stay Together
John Carter and his family understand compromise requires putting selfishness aside.
Although they work well together most of the time, when points of tension do arise, they typically have to do with implementing new practices and the financial implications.
One of the ways they reach a consensus is by testing something on a small area to determine whether they want to fully invest in it moving forward. When the Indiana dairy family goes through the process of resolving conflict, they often realize reaching an outcome was simpler than they thought.
Carter emphasizes the importance of addressing conflict head-on: “If you have conflict all the time, nothing is going to get done. There has to be some compromise - that’s when you need to sit down and talk about the best path forward.”
