Every one talks about leadership but no one really can pinpoint what it is. There are many personalities who embody leadership but they are the exceptions. What family businesses need is a certain leadership style—that of an open charismatic, benevolent autocrat who empathizes with the family but is fair and just with all. One might argue that education is also needed. I would counter that by saying not necessarily if the leader is willing to allow those with the knowledge to share and benefit all from it.

So why did I choose these characteristics? Well let me explain this throughout the article.

Openness:
Secrecy is the enemy of a leader. Any leader who is not willing to empower, allow others and be candid with his/her subordinates is bound to fail because they can’t see what he/she sees and consequently can’t help him/her to fulfill his/her vision. Not to inform other family members how much they have, what they have, how much they spent can only have a negative effect on the others because they won’t know what is expected out of them. The family also needs to know that nothing about them is secret from one another or the bound of trust is broken and chaos will ensue, slowly, but gradually.

Charismatic:
This characteristic is important because the leader must gather people around him/her rather than frighten them off. It makes the rest of the family trust him/her to lead them forward. This bond of trust is important for a leader to have because it allows the rest to move with confidence with the knowledge that the person at the helm is someone who knows or at least appears to know what he/she is doing. For a family business, both the family and the business need this.

Benevolent:
This characteristic is important because the family can rely on getting a fair share of true benefits of what the family business is reaping. Generosity is always a trait people admire. This generosity is not just in the financial sense but even in the care, consideration and encouragement that the leader bestows on the led. Sometimes a few words could influence people to do more than any financial reward could. There is an Arabic saying, that the stingy are not serviced. This is self-explanatory. And I would like to remind family business leaders that they can’t take the money with them so this characteristic should be a norm for anyone who intends to lead.

Autocratic:
Please don’t misunderstand my using this word. I don’t mean that the leaders should be opinionated and not willing to listen to others. On the contrary: The leader must actively listen to others not just by saying he/she is listening but rather put himself/herself in their shoes and try to understand why they are asking for other things than what he/she wants. However, a leader must be a decision maker. Anyone who wants to lead or be in a position of responsibility must be willing to take decisions. I have come across too many business leaders who make decisions by not making a decision? This is extremely adverse and detrimental for any business because the subordinator looks at the leader to make decisions they can’t make. A sense of decisiveness is important for a leader. Nor more than within a family business because the family leader is looked upon as a father-figure, irrespective of gender, and they await his/her command to move. And no one is more inclined to decisiveness like an autocrat.

Empathy:
To be able to empathize is so important for a leader in a family business because he/she is dealing not just with a financial issue but a blood issue. These people that he/she is leading are his/her kin. He/she must feel for them and understand why the issue matters to them. Family relations should weight as much as financial ones because they are dealing with the human aspect here.

Just:
If you wanted to know why family businesses fail, it is usually because of succession planning, or should I say a lack of it, and conflicts between members of the family. Usually succession planning is not discussed because justice and fairness are not meted out properly within the family. There is a god-like mentality or favoritism that the leader shows, which is unjust, that causes the rifts within family members. A good leader needs to be aware of this and be vigil. He/she must also be the first to remedy the situation not along the lines of emotional attachment but rather along the lines of farness. This might not be well liked by all, but all will respect this and all will toe the family line. Communism failed because of preached fairness and equality for all but the reality was that some were more equal than others. If this is prevalent in a family, a crisis is bound to happen.

Leadership is what binds a family together in a family business. The leader will often be remembered whether he/she is good or bad not by his/her intentions but his/her actions. Leaders are expected to lead. This can be done from the forefront such as leaders like Sam Walton who grabbed an opportunity when no one else did. Or it can be done in the background such as within my family where my Uncle Mohamed gave his cousin, my Uncle Ahmed the freedom to accomplish all that he did. Leadership comes in many styles but it needs to be done.