Sibling rivalry in family business

The Family Business Survey 2021, conducted jointly by Grant Thornton and Family Business Australia and Family Business New Zealand identified that 9 per cent of women and 4 per cent of men in businesses stated sibling rivalry as the greatest source of conflict.

Sibling rivalry is the type of dispute that can be destructive when it comes to making decisions in your family business, so it is important to have strategies in place to mitigate conflict. This rivalry between siblings usually takes two different forms: strategic and emotional.

1. Strategic rivalry

Strategic rivalry often occurs when siblings have conflicting values, business styles, and different attitudes towards risk. While such differences are insignificant in their personal lives, when working together in the family business and with their livelihoods depending on one another, these differences can present problems. When these strategic disagreements happen, they should be resolved professionally, rather than personally. While you can’t ignore the ongoing relationships between family members, resolving strategic disputes should be done the same way in family businesses as other small businesses – through strategic planning and adhering to the company’s existing business plan.

2. Emotional rivalry

Behavioural research has shown that emotion-based sibling rivalry is the struggle to gain attention and love from parents, which was missing during childhood. This can extend into adulthood and competition in the family business, and as the siblings are in competition with one another, they are not working together to further the interests of the business. This may cause them to actively avoid working together, so they can prove the success is theirs alone.

If emotional sibling rivalry is threatening the family business, it is best to take proactive steps to guide siblings toward a more mature relationship with each other and their parents. This may include:

• Developing professional experiences outside of work through a second job or volunteer opportunity, gaining exposure to other business techniques, and disentangle personal and professional relationships.
• Undertaking strength analysis so that you can redistribute responsibilities and train, hire, or promote employees with complementary skillsets ensuring everyone is able to focus on what they do best.
• Organising external coaching sessions to help family members overcome their interpersonal differences and develop strategies to move the family business forward.

Source of conflict

Many family disagreements tend to revolve around the issue of fairness. When family members are in business together, they must balance the conflicting requirements of the family and business systems and manage the boundary between them. By identifying and addressing the needs behind the disputes, you can help siblings develop into better leaders for your business.

How can we help?

Families who work well together are more effective, but when they don’t see eye to eye, the business will benefit from bringing in a non-family member who shares the same values. Sibling rivalries have existed since the beginning of time, but in a family business, avoiding confrontation and establishing governance rules between family members is critical.

At Grant Thornton we work with all members of the family within your business to ensure everyone’s wants and needs are met, and outcomes are aligned with each of the family member’s objectives to the benefit of the whole family and the business.

Contact our team today for help to resolve conflict in your family business.