Why You Need Family Leadership Training Since founding Save the Family Institute in 1997, I have met hundreds of people who are not content with what they get from the extended family experience. One of the most common complaints I hear is “my family lacks true cohesiveness. If forced to function as a cohesive body the family could not respond effectively.”
One of the most common impediments to self-sufficiency is the fact that the leader is not identified. The family is the only institution in this world that does not formally recognize its leader. With no leader identified the family can’t pursue a common vision or mission with authority. Without leadership there is no one to state the purpose for which the family exists. This being the case, most families are forced to go outside the family circle to acquire an identity. As a result we find families who live for the race.
Living for the race, you live outside family space. Family space has nothing to do with race. People from all races can come together and form a family circle. They can claim the space within the circle and develop it. Family space transcends race, ethnicity, nationality, and religion. Mixing race and family is like mixing oil and water. Race connects you to an image. The connection you make to the image takes place externally. Unlike family, the institution of race is external.
Family is an internal institution. Viewed externally, its purpose is obscured. The family’s principal function is to produce first class human beings. To produce good product the family must organize. The first step in the process is to claim family space, the space inside the family circle. To claim this space the family must gather for the purpose of identifying its membership. Recognizing its members in a formal proceeding and giving them the authority to represent the institution codifies family space.
Having codified the space the family can activate its sovereignty. Sovereignty is the power ceded by the family to its leader to control the space inside the family circle. Controlling this space is a vital function because it’s within this space that the family operates. Family is not an external institution. The family connection is internal. Family life is the life you live inside the circle. To give life to the inner circle family sovereignty must be activated. The question you must ask yourself is, “Is your family a sovereign entity?" If your family space has not been codified and your leader has not been identified, your family is not a sovereign entity.
To become a sovereign entity, family space must be codified and developed. To do this the membership and leadership must be formally recognized and given the authority to represent the family. Of major concern to leadership, are the tools made available to control and protect family space. The instruments used should be approved by the membership. The instruments I refer to are customs and traditions.
To protect the sanctity of its space, the family must erect barriers. Constructing these barriers or boundaries the family exercises its sovereignty. Using custom and tradition, the family can construct barriers to protect the family from external corruption.
Customs and traditions are the family’s most valuable assets. To realize their value they must be honored and preserved. Honoring and preserving them gives life to the space inside the family circle. Of all of the family assets, nothing has more value than its history. The family history is a key component in the process of activating sovereignty. It is the foundation on which the family’s identity is built. The other key components are leadership, operations, formation, signature, health and wellness, identity and spirituality. These comprise the “Eight Keys for the Family Preservation.”
After analying this data, Save the Family Institute will prepare a profile on your family. If the family desires, the profile will be used to develop a Strategic Plan that is custom designed to maximize the family's operating proficiency. Family Diagnostic Evaluation 1. How many family members do you have? Give a rough estimate. 2. How many members of your family are under 20 years a rouch estimate. a. How many members are 20 - 50 years of age? b. How many members are 51 and over? 3. Where is your family from originally? County? City? State? 4. Who is your oldest known ancestor? 5. Where do most of the family members live today? 6. How often do you have family reunions? 7. Does your family have a historian? 8. Does your family have a resource database with contact information and resumes on all of the adult members? 9. How do you currently keep track of your family members? 10. Is your family per capita income over forty thousand dollars a year? 11. Does your family have a biography that tells the family story? 12. Does your family have a council of leaders? 13. Has your family incorporated as a non-profit organization, or any legal entity? 14. Does your family have a family trust fund? 15. What percentage of the family has graduated from college? 16. Does your family have a mission or vision statement? 17. Does your family have a tradition that all of the members honor? 18. Does your family have a slogan or symbol to identify it? 19. Have you identified any major challenges your family faces collectively? 20.Has your family compiled a health history? 21. Does your family have any type of preventive health program in place? 22. What gives you a greater sense of identity your family or your race? 23. Does your family have members from other races? 24. Does your family have an identity separate from race? 25. If race were not an option how would you identify yourself? 26. Did your parents plan your conception? 27. What percentage of your family population was conceived according to a plan? 28. What percentage of your family population was born out of wedlock? 29. What is your family’s position on sex before marriage? 30. Does your family have its own Web Site or E Group? 31. What vehicle does your family use to resolve internal conflict? 32. What percentage of your family is college educated? 33. What percentage of your family has served in the military 34. What percentage of your family's adult population is unemployed? 35. Please describe below what you think would improve your overall family experience. 36. Name two people in your family who have the responsibility of coordinating family events. 37. Who would be the best person to contact to offer our programs and services to?
Family Diagnostic Evaluation 1. How many family members do you have? Give a rough estimate. 2. How many members of your family are under 20 years a rouch estimate. a. How many members are 20 - 50 years of age? b. How many members are 51 and over? 3. Where is your family from originally? County? City? State? 4. Who is your oldest known ancestor? 5. Where do most of the family members live today? 6. How often do you have family reunions? 7. Does your family have a historian? 8. Does your family have a resource database with contact information and resumes on all of the adult members? 9. How do you currently keep track of your family members? 10. Is your family per capita income over forty thousand dollars a year? 11. Does your family have a biography that tells the family story? 12. Does your family have a council of leaders? 13. Has your family incorporated as a non-profit organization, or any legal entity? 14. Does your family have a family trust fund? 15. What percentage of the family has graduated from college? 16. Does your family have a mission or vision statement? 17. Does your family have a tradition that all of the members honor? 18. Does your family have a slogan or symbol to identify it? 19. Have you identified any major challenges your family faces collectively? 20.Has your family compiled a health history? 21. Does your family have any type of preventive health program in place? 22. What gives you a greater sense of identity your family or your race? 23. Does your family have members from other races? 24. Does your family have an identity separate from race? 25. If race were not an option how would you identify yourself? 26. Did your parents plan your conception? 27. What percentage of your family population was conceived according to a plan? 28. What percentage of your family population was born out of wedlock? 29. What is your family’s position on sex before marriage? 30. Does your family have its own Web Site or E Group? 31. What vehicle does your family use to resolve internal conflict? 32. What percentage of your family is college educated? 33. What percentage of your family has served in the military 34. What percentage of your family's adult population is unemployed? 35. Please describe below what you think would improve your overall family experience. 36. Name two people in your family who have the responsibility of coordinating family events. 37. Who would be the best person to contact to offer our programs and services to?