In many family businesses, the board of directors makes a strategic decision… and Sunday lunch can undo it. The paradox is clear: corporate governance only works if it is aligned with family governance. And, in Brazil, this alignment is still one of the biggest challenges in leadership transitions.
When Two Governance Styles Don't Communicate
Business families create boards, shareholder agreements, and bring in market executives believing that this is enough to professionalize management. But if the family doesn't have its own forums, such as a family council, shareholder meetings, and clear succession protocols, the domestic culture invades the company. Decisions become personal disputes, successors lack clarity of roles, and the company loses agility.
The Cultural Dimension in Transitions
Governance is structure, but it is also culture. When a new generation takes over, it brings new values: risk vision, social purpose, leadership style. If this energy is not reliable and channeled, the transition risks cultural change, both within the family and with external executives. This is where governance and culture need to go hand in hand: forums that organize, but also engage with the family's identity and leadership style.
Inspiring (and warning) cases:
The future demands balance
Corporate governance without family governance is an empty shell. Family governance without corporate governance is fragility. Only when these two dimensions are confirmed and supported by each other does succession happen in a healthy way, preserving the culture and, at the same time, guaranteeing professionalism and continuity.
👉 In the end, the question is not whether your company is ready to adopt governance practices. The question is: is your family ready to govern alongside the company?