In my work with families, I've observed that those…

In my work with families, I've observed that those who govern themselves best have systems with five outstanding characteristics: 1) The system is highly inclusive, asking as many as possible of those who will be governed to actively participate in it. It also seeks to minimize the waiting time for a new family member to begin participating fully in its processes. 2) It has highly articulated practices for the development of representatives, and as early as possible, it recruits members of the family who show leadership characteristics for roles in family gover-nance as potential career choices. 3) It has active training and development programs to provide the coaching and mentoring necessary for a family member to be ready to act as a family representative when asked to do so. It provides clear succession guidelines so that serving members know exactly how long their tenure will be. 4) It has highly developed educational programs to ensure that all family members are able to fully participate in family governance and to comprehend the decisions made by the family's legislative, judicial, and executive bodies. 5) It has procedures in place, using elders, to ensure that the minority view on any issue is protected. It gives the elders the authority to advise the family when it is not following the rules it has made for its governance.

— from True North (Ethics, Integrity, Truth, Values)

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