In the context of a family meeting, fairness must be the format for making decisions and resolving differences. Family business experts Ludo Van der Heyden, Christine Blondel and Randel S. Carlock have written about the five elements of “justice” in family businesses: communication, clarity, changeability, consistency and commitment to fairness. With those principles in mind, here are five tips for planning an effective family meeting:
1. Give everyone a voice: It’s best to allow and establish an equal voice for each family member. A strong solution for scheduling meetings can be for a neutral party to assume control. Placing the process in the hands of someone independent can make the difference in creating a fair playing field.
2. Make scheduling straightforward: Some families simply circulate a calendar and have family members provide first, second and third priorities. Rules governing the selection of final dates are clearly stated. Transparency is key to a fair process.
3. Keep it consistent: Family meeting logistics and procedures must be applied in the same way to all family members across successive meetings. Changing the rules without the agreement or involvement of everyone is a sure way to diminish trust.
4. Allow for flexibility: All family members should be provided the same opportunity to alter family meeting plans, with no one person having any more or less influence. Decision-making rules are often consensus- or alignment-based, or voted by majority. The same procedures used to adopt key policies should be used for making changes to the logistics of a meeting.
5. Write down the rules: Create and follow written documents that support the structure and effectiveness of family meetings by laying out clear rules of engagement. Reminding everyone of how they have aligned around the process of decision-making is a great way to open and close any meeting.