53: Working With Systemic Change in Family Business

Let's Talk Family Enterprise

Introduction

Welcome to Let’s Talk Family Enterprise, a podcast that explores the ideas, concepts, and models that best serve Family Enterprise Advisors in supporting their clients.

All views, information, and opinions expressed during this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of Family Enterprise Canada.

Description

In this episode, Aileen Miziolek talks with Marita Fridjhon, co-author of System Inspired Leadership: How to Tap Collective Wisdom to Navigate Change, Enhance Agility and Foster Collaboration, and co-founder of CRR Global. Together, they discuss the complexity of systemic change in family business; the importance of meeting people where they are, instead of where we expect them to be; the benefits of teams when working with family business systems; as well as ideas on modeling positivity to help families gain confidence in their ability to work better together.

Guest bio

Marita Fridjhon is co-owner and CEO of CRR Global and a mentor to an ever-growing community of practitioners in the field of Relationship Systems work. She excels in supporting client systems to uncover systems-inspired solutions from the collective wisdom within the larger whole. Marita is an accredited coach and trained therapist with degrees in Social Work and Medical Social Work. She completed her training in Psychiatric Social Work before acquiring qualifications in Process Work, Alternative Dispute Resolution, coaching, and team coaching.

You can learn more about Marita Fridjhon on her website and LinkedIn.

Key Takeaways

[0:32] Aileen Miziolek guest hosts this month’s episode and welcomes Marita Fridjhon. They discuss how to apply team coaching to families.

[4:44] Marita touches on the application of the four-circle model to nested family systems in order to better serve as advisors.

[7:56] Although the relationship with oneself is the starting point, Marita explains how the system itself also develops a unique and evolving personality.

[10:00] Marita unpacks the strange permeability of boundaries within family systems.

[12:07] The iterative phases of systemic evolution: meet, reveal, align, and act.

[14:00] Marita reminds us there are multitudes within the self: be aware of which facet of the individual you are addressing.

[16:17] Identity and expression of self are in constant flux.

[18:45] Emotional literacy is on the decline, Marita explains how COVID-19 and a post-traumatic world are generating widespread fatigue.

[20:10] There is no easy fix.

[22:00] Empathy fatigue will inevitably generate larger conflicts that bleed from personal areas to business.

[24:04] Marita offers that advisors may support their families more on the personal side, or the business side, but rarely both.

[27:05] Marita offers a bit of history on the shifting boundaries between therapy and coaching and why some personal and professional advisory role-playing might best serve families.

[32:11] Rather than finding positivity, Marita proposes to model it. She shares a practice she discovered and implemented at work.

[37:00] Marita’s book recommendation as well as her advice for advisors.

[38:20] Aileen thanks Marita Fridjhon for joining the podcast and sharing so much of her expertise, and signs off until next month.

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Mentioned in this episode

The Let’s Talk Family Enterprise podcast is brought to you by Family Enterprise Canada.

Systems Inspired Leadership: How to Tap Collective Wisdom to Navigate Change, Enhance Agility, and Foster Collaboration, by Frank Uit de Weerd, Marita Fridjhon

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