Women in Family Business XIII has now concluded and it was a wonderful event!
The 22 women who participated came from every corner of the US-Hawaii to Florida, Cleveland to Denver, throughtout California to Reno, Nevada. Our discussion focused on the role of Chief Emotional Officer. We discussed what a chief emotional officer does, what it takes to be a cEo, the challenges and obstacles faced by someone working in this role and the impact she can have.
There are 5 categories of functions which the Chief Emotional officer fills: she (and sometimes he)
- Facilitates communication
- Is the steward of family culture
- Encourages family relationships
- Provides a bridge between the family and the business, and
- Provides leadership to the family and the business
The skills and attitudes it takes to be a cEo include:
- Awareness of family culture: values, traditions, history, rituals and symbols
- Interest in and Commitment to the family and business
- Ability to engage others
- Sense of timing
- Multi-tasking
- Interest in and Commitment to the family and business
- Being supportive of all constituents within the family-business system
- Recognition of the importance of the role
- Ability to take care of one’s self (including having strong interpersonal boundaries!).
There are many obstacles to performing the tasks-having this range of skills is only one of them. Participants note that cEos are often greeted with ambivalence: there support is sought, but sometimes resented. The role is rarely “official” and often is invisible and not legitimized. While preliminary research shows that this role is important to the survival of families in business, there has been very little attention paid to this role in academia or professional circles.
We will be sharing our observations and data on the website soon. If you would like more information, please leave us your name and e-mail address.
