God designed families to be a good thing. When a family lives according to biblical principles, they often feel connected, engaged, and loved.
However, sin has tainted family relationships. Scripture shows examples of dysfunctional family dynamics and their negative consequences. In family businesses, dysfunctional relationships impact family members and may harm the business and non-family team members.
This blog post series aims to help families in business understand and improve their family dynamics. In this post, we examine family dynamics and why they are important. In our second post, we will unpack healthy and unhealthy family dynamics. In our third post, we will look at practical ways to foster change in family dynamics.
Family dynamics are patterns of interactions between family members. These patterns include roles within the family, relationships between family members, and communication between family members.
There are dozens of factors that can influence family dynamics, such as age, personality, upbringing, chronic illness, and parent’s occupation, to name just a few.
Family dynamics often impact our behavior, well-being, and relationships both at home and in our workplaces. Studies show that how we act at work can be heavily influenced by our childhood interactions with friends and family.
For example, a leader who grew up in an environment where small disagreements often spiraled into verbal brawls might try to keep himself and those around him safe by shutting down debates and avoiding conflict in the workplace.
On the other hand, a leader who learned healthy conflict management skills as a child may manage conflict and debate well in the workplace.
This is not to say our past limits us but to see how our past experiences might have a significant impact on how we act today.
Our next post will look at healthy and unhealthy family dynamics and their impact on family businesses.
Chew On This
What is one thing that happened when you were younger that influences how you lead today?
