Strengthening the Family through Effective Communications and Owner Engagement

This 2011 FOX Fall Forum session explored the link between family engagement and emotional stewardship. It also examined the role of education and communication in enhancing emotional ownership. 

• The more engaged your owners are, the more ownership conflict you will have. Conflict can be a healthy sign of emotional engagement. No conflict is an indicator of avoidance, lack of engagement and low levels of emotional ownership. 
• Emotional ownership enables stewardship: It is a link between the present, past and future. If you don’t address emotional ownership, you will not get the engagement you are seeking for family involvement (family meetings, governance, philanthropy, etc.). 
• Training and education promote emotional ownership. The earlier you start education the more emotional involvement will result and the higher the engagement from family members, but it must be age appropriate.