The initial paper in this series (Swaffin-Smith and O’Leary, 2019) focused on one company and examined the difficulties encountered in the transition from an owner-managed operation to that of a sibling partnership. Following a decade of support for that family business by the family business
adviser author, this study uses various frameworks to explore several key learning points about the role of a family business adviser in interactions with family members in the organisation. These experiences have enhanced understandings of the complex nature of the interaction between the adviser and client, particularly how the relationship evolves and how frameworks can be adapted to achieve mutually agreed business and family outcomes. It also further reinforces the observed
transitional and evolutionary nature of family firms as reflected in the Organic Model (O’Leary and Swaffin-Smith, 2016) of family businesses
