“Your responsibility is not to yourself but to the task that has been given to you.”
Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat and UN Secretary-General (1953–1961)
Ambassadorship in family ownership can be described as a shared understanding of what concrete expectations we have of one another as owners – not just toward the next generation, but also toward older generations, partners, and teenagers in the family. You might say that while Next Gen development is partly about how one becomes motivated for ownership and finds one’s role within it, ambassadorship applies to all generations and is less about motivation and more about what family members simply must uphold in a shared ownership.
In this article, we take a closer look at some of the traits that a good ambassador for the family ownership carries out into the world.
Three Good Reasons to Work on Ambassadorship
There are many good reasons to create strong ambassadors in family ownership, however, here are the three most important ones:
- Protect the family’s reputation: The media’s interest in family ownership and wealthy individuals is growing. At the same time, many live a public life online, and especially the younger generations need help to understand the consequences of granting access to their lifestyle via social media.
- Safeguard family unity: A set of ground rules for how we steward our ownership prevents conflicts and thus protects the family unity.
- Take care of your employees: It is motivating to work for a family that you respect and appreciate. This applies both to employees in family businesses and in the family office.
Ambassadorship – Creating Value from the Inside Out
ambassador (noun)
1. an official representative of one state in another country, especially responsible for diplomatic relations between the two countries.
2. a person who represents and conveys knowledge about a cause, brand, company, etc., with the aim of generating interest and sympathy.
Few ambassadors of ownership will have the opportunity to practice diplomacy across national borders, but otherwise the official definition from the Danish Dictionary fits quite well. The ambassador’s role is versatile and should in fact be carried out by everyone between the ages of 14 and 94. The ambassador role has at least five important facets:
1. Living the Mission, Vision, and Values
Knowing the family’s value base is not enough—you must be able to translate it into practice. The ambassador lives the values, both within the family and externally in the company and society.
2. Continuous Learning
A good ambassador is constantly developing—professionally and personally—and balances their own ambitions with the shared direction of the ownership by asking questions, learning new things, and contributing meaningfully.
3. Respect for the Family’s Reputation
Ambassadors do not only represent themselves – they carry a name and a legacy. This entails a special responsibility to behave decently and respectfully – on social media, in public, and especially toward employees and partners.
4. Supporting Unity and Open Communication
Internal communication and family relationships are the glue that holds the family ownership together. The ambassador takes responsibility for creating dialogue, building bridges, and refraining from fanning the flames when disagreements spark.
5. Responsibility for Including Younger Family Members
The ambassador does not see themselves as one of a select few, but as a bridge between past and future generations. Once they are old enough, they take the younger ones under their wing and involve them in long-term decisions. This helps lay the foundation for the next generation to step into ownership even more effectively.
Working actively on ambassadorship sparks new, exciting, and even fun conversations within the family. It can be done creatively and inclusively so that even the youngest feel motivated by the process. In the next article, we’ll explore how to work with ambassadorship in your family ownership so that it doesn’t become merely a raised finger or a checklist of dos and don’ts.
If you’re curious about how you can work proactively and positively with ambassadorship in your ownership, contact us for a non-binding meeting here.
