Executive Counseling and Family Business Therapy
“The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others.”
- Erik Erikson
Building and Managing a Family Business Can Take a Toll
Owning or working within a family business is more than a career—it’s a legacy. But that legacy often comes with complex emotional challenges. The overlapping systems of family and business can bring up conflict, pressure, and confusion, particularly around key decisions like succession, governance, money values and estate planning.
You may be facing:
Emotionally charged decisions about transferring responsibility or wealth
Intractable sibling conflict or relational breakdowns
Disagreements about next-generation involvement, vision, or values
Questions about whether it's time for a liquidity event or an exit strategy
These issues aren't just logistical—they're deeply personal. Family Business Therapy can provide a safe forum and skills to resolve conflict and heal disharmony which are necessary to navigate strong emotional terrain and move forward with clarity and consensus.
Managing Conflict Around Compensation, Succession or Estate Planning
Perhaps your parents built the business and now face retirement. Or you’re a parent trying to determine how to fairly distribute your estate or transition leadership to the next generation. These decisions, if not carefully managed, can lead to major family rifts.
Who will run the business? Who manages the estate? How do you gift children with differing needs? How do you avoid unintentionally creating conflict or resentment?
I work with families to resolve these difficult questions and transitions before they reach your estate attorneys and financial advisors. With thoughtful mediation, you can reach emotionally sound and strategically smart solutions while preserving family bonds.
Trust Is the Currency of a Family Business.
Working Together as a Family—Not Just Business Partners
The emotional and interpersonal aspects of running a family business can be just as important—and volatile—as the financial ones. Success often comes with unique challenges because it stems from the complex blend of two systems: the family and the business. Without the proper tools, family conflict can become unmanageable and stuck, threatening not only the business but also the health of relationships.
As a executive counselor and family business therapist, I help you get unstuck:
Mediate emotional conversations about power, responsibility, and legacy
Repair communication challenges and strained family relations
Manage longstanding conflicts and interpersonal breakdowns
Facilitate family meetings that move from tension to collaboration
Using proven conflict management and relationship mediation strategies, I create a unique, confidential space where every voice can be heard and difficult issues can be addressed constructively.
Support for Executives and Owners - Navigating Stress, Leadership, and Life
As a business owner, you're still human. Running your own business can be taxing because you're the one everyone looks to for guidance and solutions. It's not uncommon to feel overwhelmed and isolated during certain times; it’s lonely at the top. Figuring out hiring decisions, dealing with financial issues, and understanding customer needs can become incredibly stressful. And if there are family dynamics in the mix - whether they work at the firm or not - can make everything seem much more complicated, lead to burn-out and create an unhealthy work-life balance.
These so-called “soft-issues” around relationships are indeed the “hardest.”
Seeking help is normal. You gain insight into how to manage difficult decisions and talk through personal concerns business without the fear of repercussions in the workplace or bringing the stress home. Therapeutically-informed Family Business Consulting can help you to better communicate with your team, family members and other stakeholders about the business - in order to mitigate conflicts around differences in values and goals. You can run a business without sacrificing everything else in your life, including your mental wellbeing. This is a private space to express your thoughts and feelings without the fear of judgements in the workplace or repercussions from bringing the stress home.
My Approach to Executive Counseling and Family Business Therapy
My approach is collaborative, structured, and deeply rooted in real-world application. I partner with clients to surface core challenges, make sense of complexity, and co-create solutions that are both practical and sustainable. Each engagement is guided by a clear process, designed to uncover patterns, clarify priorities, and build alignment across stakeholders. Rather than offering quick fixes, I provide tools and frameworks that strengthen long-term capacity for thoughtful decision-making, healthy communication, and purposeful action, including:
Research-Based Psychology - Integrating family systems theories and conflict resolution techniques with deep business knowledge.
Individual Assessments – Designed to explore personal narratives, beliefs about money, personality traits, and communication styles.
Conflict Resolution Skills – Provide frameworks to understand sources of disagreement and guide productive, solution-focused conversations.
Values Work – Help individuals and groups align decisions with core personal and professional values and money beliefs.
Communication Tools – Offers practical techniques and strategies to reduce personalization in conflict and support more effective, respectful dialogue.
Family Constitution Development – Document core values, decision-making processes, and succession planning guidelines
I Get It—Because I’ve Been There
I’m Gary Wolf. I’ve spent over 25 years working in and with family businesses. With a background in wealth management, family enterprises, psychotherapy, and conflict mediation, I bring a unique, process-driven and compassionate approach to helping families navigate these critical moments.
I know the stakes are high. I’ve lived them. And I’m here to help you move forward—together.
I regularly provide virtual sessions to clients across the United States. Whether we work together in person or online, confidentiality and professionalism are guaranteed.
Ready to Move Forward with Executive Counseling and Family Business Therapy?
Executive Counseling and Family Business Therapy in Kansas City, MO, and virtually anywhere in the U.S., can help you establish a strong connection between money and relationships. With the help of Mental Wealth Counseling, you can avoid allowing money to become a source of conflict and family stress. By addressing these issues together, individuals, couples and families can find long-lasting solutions. If you're ready to start working on building a healthier and stronger relationship with your family, your work and your finances:
Learn More About Me and My Services
Embark on your path to Mental Wealth with Executive Counseling and Family Business Therapy!
Executive Counseling and Family Business Therapy FAQs
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I offer Executive Counseling and Family Business Therapy for U.S.-based individuals in leadership roles and families who own a business. These services—available virtually or in person in Kansas City, MO—are structured as coaching and consulting engagements. They are typically issue-specific, with a focus on conflict management, leadership development, and relational clarity. While therapeutically informed by my clinical background, this work does not include diagnosis or care for acute psychological concerns.
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If you’re interested in counseling or therapy services, including support for receiving a diagnosis or addressing an acute mental health concern, please visit my other specialties on this website to learn more. I offer counseling and therapy to individuals and families located in Kansas, Missouri, and New York.
For more information or to set up a free 15-minute consultation call, please contact me.
