Team Building and Conflict Management: Strategies for Family Businesses

In this study, we investigate the use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) as an instrument to improve relationships among family team members in family businesses. We conducted a workshop on personality differences based on the MBTI for the family management teams of four family businesses. Both before and after the workshops, members of each team completed a survey assessing their perceptions of interpersonal dynamics within the family business. Improved responses on the post-workshop survey show that educating family business members in personality differences can improve perceptions relating to the interpersonal dynamics within the family management team.