“Hosh mein toh ho? Yeh civil contractor ka kaam khud karna chahti ho?”

“Are you out of your mind? You want to work as a civil contractor?”

My real journey as a next gen family business leader started 10 years ago with this dialogue. It was the first instance of difference in opinion between me and my dad.

I was frustrated and hurt. At that point, I just had to agree with him and move on.

A decade later, I’m much better at managing such differences, reining in the emotions and juggling between the different hats of an owner, manager and daughter. Or at least I think so.

Being a next gen fam biz leader for me is like having the best of most things in life – autonomy in work, comfortable and luxurious lifestyle, a strong support system, fulfillment of creating impact and outcome driven efforts.

But it also comes with huge pressures and responsibility – to fill greater shoes, achieve dreams of other family members, be fair to non-family stakeholders, live upto to the name and legacy of the family elders.

When I was chosen as the successor for our “family business governance services” business it was a huge decision, significantly altering and shaping my future. I felt a certain degree of assurance that I knew what life was going to be about and a certain degree of fear, what was I going to do with this business.

In this journey, I have often been very hard on myself, asking questions–

Am I doing enough? Am I doing it right ? How often can I go asking for help ? When will I really get it all together ? This is a guilt trap where once I get stuck, I feel more and more disappointed in myself. Only when I have been compassionate towards myself, and leaned on spirituality a bit, I have felt truly re-empowered to get back and give my all.

I belong to one of the smaller family businesses and we have a handful of professionals in leadership positions. But I have seen professionalism always being practiced as a value by the older generation- respect for team members, time discipline, accountability, commitment towards continuous learning, openness and integrity. That really left no choice for me but to follow their footsteps.

My own experiences tell me that I have earned respect and recognition from the elders in family and business while building a healthy rapport with team members to give & receive feedback and mutually engage in competency & leadership development.

For me, being a thorough professional and managing business through systems and structures has paved the way for tremendous learning and growth of self and organization. I have realized that in this journey enhancing the EQ and communicating effectively is a constant and ongoing pursuit which makes one a better leader everyday.