John Hughes, M.A.

Principal

Summary of experience

I have worked both in and with family-owned and closely- held businesses and their owners for more than 30 years. The focus of my work is to support clients in the continual development of their family relationships, leadership talent, organization and culture to create a sustainable business and a healthy family. I have extensive experience working with construction and real estate-related clients, such as contractors, developers, real estate management and architectural firms. I also have experience with financial institutions, manufacturers, transportation, retail and service firms.

I use a holistic approach that balances the desire for maintaining strong, healthy family relationships with sound business structures and the development of a shared vision for the future of the business. Through the use of objective assessment tools, I help companies identify, develop and fully utilize their leadership talent to achieve their key business goals. When working with individuals, engagements focus on developing key leaders in the current or next generation management team by helping them improve their emotional intelligence and maximizing their ability to capitalize on natural talents. When working with organizations, I address the ability of the leadership team to function effectively and to think together and to create a flexible and responsive structure that allows individuals to assume responsibility for their outcomes. Organizational projects have focused on leadership team and partnership effectiveness, conflict resolution, and communication and commitment enhancement.

Business families traditionally experience stress and anxiety around the major transition points in the family and business. The generational transition of ownership and leadership is often the most difficult because of the number of transitions embedded in the larger process and the increase in complexity that emerges out of the shift from a single owner/manager to several sibling owners and managers. We work to help business families become aware of their patterns of interaction and over time this awareness will create the opening for response rather than reaction and eventually allow the family to create an entirely new way to speak with one another.

Business and professional affiliations

The Family Firm Institute, the OD Network. University of St. Thomas Family Business Advisors Group.
I speak frequently on an assortment of topics related to family and closely held business succession planning, family business dynamics, organizational leadership and culture development and personal transformation.

Education

Master of arts degree in counseling psychology, a graduate certificate in marriage and family counseling from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, and a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Ashland University.