Intergenerational Culture
According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, culture is the set of ways of life and customs, knowledge, and degree of artistic, scientific, and industrial development within a period or a social group. Culture is mainly composed of evident and public behaviors that define the personality and essence of a specific group and send a message to the outside world about their beliefs, ways, and lifestyle; for example, it is easier to understand the vision of ‘death’ in Mexican culture until you experience the Day of the Dead celebration or learn the meaning of an altar. A culture may appeal to you when you know it, but it is only when you experience and engage with it that you truly understand it.
The same applies to organizational culture. When the experience of values and organizational philosophy is evident, a connection with the company begins to form, especially with the new generations where fulfilling a higher purpose is an important driver. And does the same happen in family businesses? Definitely, and the challenge is even greater because there are two cultures involved in the company: the organizational culture and the family culture are in the public eye of all employees and are constantly observed, evaluating if the family truly lives the values it proposes: Why does the company ask me to live the value of "teamwork" when the same family can't agree and is constantly in conflict?
These types of discrepancies lead to disinterest among individuals outside the family and directly impact engagement with the organizational philosophy and commitment focus. So how can organizational culture be connected with family culture? Here are some recommendations:
- Identify the values of the family business. Organizational values are usually defined through a thoughtful process; however, family values are lived, sometimes inherited, and rarely do we pause to become aware of what they are. When they are known and can be listed, it is easier to align them with the organization.
- "Translate" family and organizational values into specific behaviors. Behaviors are the evidence that values are being lived, and besides building culture day by day, they help employees and family members clarify expectations.
- Raise awareness among the family business about the important role they play as transmitters of family culture. The impact of family behavior is very high, both on employees and stakeholders. There are currently several tools (like the family council) that can help frame and define this awareness through official and open documents.
- Ensure that your organizational culture is aligned with your family culture. This alignment will facilitate family congruence and help values be lived naturally and organically.
Organizational culture is usually designed for the entire company, family, and employees, and that is why it must be ensured that the company's mission, vision, and values involve and unite everyone under a systemic vision, meaning as a whole that advances and develops simultaneously.
To achieve this vision, Bert Hellinger shares three pillars that help align the company as a system:
- Order and hierarchy: Every system must follow an order and structure; there must be clarity in the roles and responsibilities of those involved, and each person must take their place with all it implies. In family businesses, this principle refers to all family members being responsible for consciously living out the company's values and that failing to fulfill this responsibility has consequences for the family and the company.
- Balance: There must be a balance in the system between what is given and received, the proportion is the same, and both parties agree to it. In the case of the organizational culture of family businesses, the company and the living of its values should make family and non-family members better individuals, and in return, they give their best for the company's development and reputation. It is precisely this principle that generates the flourishing of the family business and its employees, thus creating a unique and balanced vision for both parties.
- Belonging: In this principle, all those involved in the system are part of something big, important, and transcendent; feeling like active members in this system increases individual commitment. In creating and writing organizational culture, it is important that employees and stakeholders feel included in the company's philosophy, that it is evident how that vision, mission, and values will lead to a collective benefit and gain.
It is important for family businesses to flourish by working together with their employees, achieving together the higher purpose that will lead the organization to continuity, transcendence, and preservation of the family and business legacy.
Originally published in the LEGADO Magazine, December 2023 edition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Blanca Cochegrus is a Professor at the Tec de Monterrey Business School.
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