Consulting firm for entrepreneurial family businesses
Family businesses are entrepreneurial, risk-conscious, value-driven and focused on continuity. But the world is changing at lightning speed. Thus, flourishing and growing further is less and less obvious. So it is searching for the optimal balance between entrepreneurship and professionalization.
Without concrete support from an experienced partner, this often fails. Gwynt can help. For 20 years, we have provided breakthroughs in business operations. We support entrepreneurship, professionalization, but also, for example, succession issues.
Professionalizing as a family business
Taking the next step in professionalization as a family business can often be extremely challenging. ingrained patterns, implicit knowledge from the past, pride and loyalty: what has always been the company’s strength can suddenly be the brake to change.
Maybe you recognize that. A culture that hinders you from making strides. The feeling that employees do not show enough ownership and proactivity. Having difficulty delegating as a family or executive. Not knowing how to further optimize and structure your business now.
Gwynt understands the issues like no other. We understand the feelings, interests and aspirations and what this requires of family, management and staff. Shoulder to shoulder, we create the breakthroughs needed to move forward.
From familial to professional management
Every family business is different and every issue is different. Professionalization is therefore customized. Yet there are five critical competencies that almost always need attention. And so where there are gains to be made.
1. Making values and goals explicit
Family businesses are often values-driven. However, professional management requires concrete goals and expectations. Therefore, it’s crucial to make family and company values explicit and translate them into a tangible strategy and concrete goals at every level of the company.
This way, the direction and focus are clear for everyone. And employees can actively contribute with focused energy to realizing the strategy and ensuring continuity.
2. Letting go of ownership
Letting go is a lever for entrepreneurship and growth throughout the company. At the same time, it’s perhaps one of the most difficult skills for family businesses to master: relinquishing ownership and transferring authority and responsibility.
Letting go requires mutual trust. Will employees take ownership and act entrepreneurially? Everyone will have to learn new leadership styles, competencies, and roles.
3. Collective innovation
In our ever-changing world, continuous innovation is essential. If you don’t, your competitors will quickly overtake you. By focusing on collective innovation, you’ll make your company a leader.
Collective innovation means involving and challenging talent at all levels of the organization. It takes courage to experiment and collaborate with other disciplines, or even with other parties. But it’s precisely this collective spirit and collaboration that leads to more energy and the necessary innovation.
4. Clearly structure organization, roles and collaboration
The organizational structure of family businesses often grows organically. This can ultimately compromise effectiveness.
If you want to maintain the manageability of a growing organization and ensure optimal collaboration, it’s important to define clear roles, responsibilities, and communication structures, both within the organization and between the family and the organization.
Voordelen:
- Iedereen weet wat men van elkaar kan en mag verwachten.
- Afstemming en besluitvorming vinden niet meer ‘bovenlangs’ plaats, maar ‘horizontaal’.
- Vergaderingen kennen een zuivere structuur, gericht op effectieve en actiegerichte besluitvorming.
- Medewerkers worden consistent en duidelijk geïnformeerd.
- Je creëert een veilige en vertrouwde omgeving waarin medewerkers elkaar opzoeken en aanspreken.
5. Developing objective decisiveness
Family businesses often operate on intuition, and that’s definitely a strength. It becomes even stronger when you can back up your intuition with figures and objective facts. Because when you know where you stand based on established goals, management and employees can proactively intervene and take action.
Also important: making the implicit knowledge in the minds of the family and senior employees explicit. This allows employees to act based on both the facts and collective knowledge.
The result is a more decisive company. People make faster and better decisions and implement the right actions.
Succession Planning
Succession planning is a hot topic for many family businesses. Can and will the next generation take over the business? Does the intended successor have the competencies needed?
The speed and magnitude at which new challenges are emerging is great. It is not always easy for the new generation to make the necessary strokes at the pace required.
We see through the challenges associated with succession processes. As a trusted partner, we have been privileged to support many family businesses in this regard. Together we build the bridge to the future and ensure continuity.
Want to experience our passion for family businesses for yourself?
Please contact Dirk Harm Eijssen, Partner at Gwynt