PBR tackles Family Business Leadership in latest CareerSmart Advisor newsletter

NORWALK, CT | Aug 05, 2008 | Paul Cherry, founder and managing partner of Performance Based Results, a Wilmington DE-based leadership development firm, is one of the business sales experts quoted in Marji McClure’s article It’s All Relative: Working for a Family Business, which appeared in the July 21st edition of CareerSmart Advisor, an ExecuNet publication. McClure’s piece examines how a family business can provide a challenging and unique leadership experience like no other, whether you’re related to the company owners or not. The following excerpt includes Cherry’s remarks:

The Leadership Role You Can Play in a Family Business

Solid leadership ability is still needed to get the job done, along with strong communication skills — especially if you are not a family member — “because there could be friction in a family business environment,” notes Cherry. “Sometimes you have to be the go-between. Because of the conflicting opinions and emotional issues in a family business, the perception of someone as a neutral outsider can be a vital leadership attribute.”

Cherry adds that such a leadership role can bring more recognition to an executive who is not a relative — recognition he may not receive in a larger, non-family business. “Sometimes these family businesses want someone like you to challenge the company and let go of the status quo,” says Cherry. “They want an outsider to shake things up and bring the parties together, be a facilitator and be a new leader.”