When we welcome new participants into our ASCEND program, they are often facing the challenge of balancing personal growth, professional development, and complex family dynamics. When your family is your business, it can be difficult to strike a balance between work and personal time. With ASCEND, we provide our participants with the tools they need to learn to navigate the work/life blend.
Often our clients are juggling multiple roles, such as employee, owner, and operator in a family enterprise. They sit on the family foundation or run investments for the family office, among other things. An educational trust from the broader family resources frequently funds or sponsors their participation in ASCEND.
The Importance of Communication in the Family Enterprise
We know effective communication is essential to all families. It’s even more critical with the complex families we serve, where role definition can be muddy. To support our ASCEND participants in navigating this, we incorporate Quarterly Newsletters into the program.
Each quarter, we have a specific program focus. At the end of the quarter, our participants send a newsletter to the important stakeholders in their families. This serves to fill the stakeholders in on:
- The experience so far,
- The progress they’ve made, and
- Any goals, celebrations, or challenges they wish to share.
These letters serve the dual purpose of having the participant practice effective communication while keeping accountability to the family enterprise/office that funded their investment into the ASCEND program. We’ve found the writers enjoy noting their own evolution and sharing insights with their stakeholders. Here’s an example of one such letter:
“I’ve seen growth within myself in my business, my relationships, and my physical health based on this attention. This quarter was focused on clarity: for myself now, as well as a long view/vision for how I can contribute to the world. I feel that I have been stretching and learning to trust myself more.”
Stakeholders, too, have enjoyed the addition of quarterly newsletters, sharing responses like this one:
“You’re showing the creativity, determination, and commitment necessary to win! Likewise, we need your energy, enthusiasm, and viewpoint in our family enterprise, and look forward to your important contributions.”
The Benefits of Quarterly Newsletters
Over the years that we have run the ASCEND program, we have found that the participants and their families have benefitted from these quarterly newsletters.
Why? Because they offer the participant the opportunity to:
- Reflect on their quarter,
- Think about their future in the program, and
- Celebrate the wins (big and small!) that they’ve had along the way.
The newsletters also give our participant families a space to ask questions, give congratulations, and see the growth and change that their children are going through over the course of the program.
At the end of the program, our participants and their families are able to look back at the newsletters, truly take in all of the progress that has been made during ASCEND, and celebrate the growth and success that is to come.
Want to learn more about the ASCEND program and see if it’s right for you? Check out our case study library, including Meg’s, Rachel’s, and LeeAnna’s experiences, then reach out to us to learn more about participating.