Family Offices & Facilitating Family Dinners

This interactive workshop helps families transform routine gatherings into purposeful spaces for better connection, communication, and shared understanding. Drawing on principles from mindful negotiation and family systems theory, participants learn how to set intentions, structure conversations, and navigate emotional dynamics that naturally arise around the table. Through role-plays and practical frameworks, attendees gain tools to engage all voices, address sensitive topics with care, and use family dinners as a foundation for building trust and alignment across generations.

This course explores how deeply ingrained patterns from our families of origin shape the way we negotiate and relate — whether at home, in a family office, or in a business context. Drawing on family systems theory and mindful negotiation practices, participants examine recurring “family dances,” habitual responses to conflict, and roles that influence how decisions are made across generations. Through structured discussion and reflective exercises, learners build awareness of relational patterns and gain strategies to shift toward more conscious, collaborative negotiation within their family systems.

Well-designed governance structures and thoughtful succession planning are essential for family harmony, long-term sustainability, and aligned decision-making. This workshop blends negotiation expertise with family-centered frameworks to help families clarify roles, responsibilities, and processes that guide collective decision-making. Participants engage with models for crafting governance charters, establishing councils or boards, and co-developing succession pathways that reflect shared values and strategic intent. The course emphasizes proactive communication, conflict management mechanisms, and co-creation of structures that support both the family and any associated business or family office.

Bringing new family members — whether through marriage, inheritance, or entrance into a family enterprise — can enrich a family system but also introduces new dynamics and expectations. This course helps families thoughtfully integrate new members in a way that respects both tradition and change. Drawing on negotiation and facilitation practices, participants explore how to clarify roles, share values and governance expectations, and create onboarding conversations that build trust and mutual understanding from the start. Exercises focus on communication strategies, addressing concerns openly, and co-creating agreements that support long-term cohesion.