Family businesses are like that tree that grandparents planted in the courtyard. He grew with strong roots, sometimes crooked, with branches that mix with each other, and that covers everyone with his shadow. But, like every living being, there comes a time when he needs strategic pruning to continue growing healthy, strong … and so that he does not fall on anyone.
The word “restructuring” may sound fearsome. Many reminds of mass layoffs, cold consultants and graphics with many arrows. But in the universe of the family business, restructuring has more to do with accommodating the house than to collapse it. It is to order roles, review beliefs, professionalize without dehumanizing, and finding a new balance between the affective and the productive.
Why restructure?
Because growing disorderly is also a way of stagnating. Many family businesses face challenges that do not come from competition or market, but from unresolved internal tensions, overlays of functions, lack of clear communication and emotional decisions that disguise them as rational.
Restructure implies asking, honestly and without fear:
– Who does what and why?
– Are we occupying talent or last name?
– What are the real objectives of the family and which those of the company?
– Our collaborators understand and share the course?
And here comes one of the keys that we usually overlook: the well -being of the people who work with us, beyond the last name.
Labor well -being: luxury or investment?
In many family SMEs, “non -family” collaborators live in a state of limbo: sufficiently inside to be affected by dysfunctional dynamics, but not so much to comment or change things. When the communication is vitiated by cross links, family discussions are filtered in the office, or decisions are made in Sunday roasts, the work climate suffers … and much.
Familiarizing the company is not to invite everyone to grandfather’s birthday, but to incorporate a culture of care, closeness and belonging to all. It means that each person, keep the founding last name, can feel part of something bigger, with purpose, meaning, and in an environment where their well -being matters.
In well -worn restructuring processes, we usually see how the work environment improves when the roles are clarified, communication channels are ordered and spaces are opened to listen to everyone. When we stop giving the way that “things are here” and we started to talk seriously.
How to accompany a restructuring from an integral view
As an accountant I would tell you: Check the numbers, I measured efficiency, detect bottlenecks.
As Agile Coach: Work in short cycles, I impact and make continuous improvements.
Like Team Coach: Look at teams as living systems that need clear agreements, feedback and trust.
And as an ontological coach: listen to the emotions that are under Excel. Resistances, fears, duels for releasing old ways of doing things. Restructuring is not only structural, it is emotional.
And in family businesses, this becomes more evident: there is no split between personal and work. Therefore, accompanying these processes from a systemic and human perspective is the big difference between restructuring and deconstructing meaning.
The fruits of a good pruning
When restructuring is done with conscience, commitment and integral look, the results are visible:
– The company gains efficiency, focus and adaptability.
– The family is ordered and can project continuity without latent conflicts.
– The collaborators feel valued, heard, and that translates into real commitment.
– Rotation is reduced, the weather improves and culture is strengthened.
In short, the company becomes a place where it is nice to be. And that, in these times, is worth gold.
To close …
Restructure is not a threat, it is an opportunity. A family business that is encouraged to look honestly, to embrace the change and to prioritize the well -being of all its members – family or not – is sowing the bases to transcend generations. Because the roots are important … but it is also to know where we want our tree to grow.
Mariela del Valle Aguilera
Prager 94 – Villa Carlos Paz – CBA.
www.marielaaguilera.com
Mail: [email protected]
IG – LKDIN: @marieladvagaguilera
Tel: 353 – 4222409
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