Helpful Articles


The Big Five

By Terri Bennink On April 4, 2013

A lot has been written about the human side of leadership. This of course includes personal effectiveness with people and with teams; i.e. the ability to influence others to get things done. Some have referred to these as “soft skills”, although most would admit that they are actually harder to implement and carry out given [...]

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The Glass Ceiling of Paternalism: A Common Style of Leadership in the Family Business

By Terri Bennink On April 4, 2013

Paternalism is a style of leadership that is essential to understand as it impacts many areas of organizational culture and change. I think that one of my favorite lines from the popular television show “The Office”, was when Michael Scott (the boss) said, “I’m friends with everyone in this office. We are all best friends. I [...]

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Why is Trust so Fundamental and So Fundamentally Important?

By Terri Bennink On July 17, 2012

I was reflecting on the various families and organizations that I have worked with over the years and thinking through what had been the catalyst for getting them into doing organizational development/systems work, and if they had made significant change. In every case, there had been one or more individuals who had spoken up about some [...]

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Pain, Change, and the Role of Canaries

By Terri Bennink On April 4, 2012

I was reflecting on the various families and organizations that I have worked with over the years and thinking through what had been the catalyst for getting them into doing organizational development/systems work, and if they had made significant change. In every case, there had been one or more individuals who had spoken up about some [...]

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