Sylwia Kowalenko Family Business Psychology

The hardest decisions need a calm space

I work with business families where the future of the company meets relationships, emotions and responsibility for the generations to come. I combine a psychological and systemic perspective with an understanding of the legal side of succession - supporting families through generational change and conflict.

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Sylwia Kowalenko in a white shirt, portrait against a dark curtain

What I do

Behind every decision about succession, ownership and the future of a company there are people and their relationships. Different expectations, emotions, family histories and a sense of responsibility for the next generation can matter just as much as business and legal solutions.

Sylwia Kowalenko holding a notebook

I help families understand these connections, put into words what has so far been left unsaid, and create space for a conversation that makes it possible to reach thoughtful, responsible decisions.

Good agreements protect the assets. Wise conversations protect the family. Real security comes when a sound legal framework and mature relationships meet at the same table.

  • Confidential consultations

    Meetings for people facing important decisions about the future of the company, succession or family relationships, as well as those dealing with complex situations where family and business meet.

  • Succession and family governance

    Succession and generational change processes that help a family prepare for the future, define roles and responsibilities, and agree on how they will work together going forward.

  • Mediation and family relationships

    Working with the tensions and conflicts that make it hard for a family to reach agreement and cooperate - taking into account the perspective of each person and of the family system as a whole.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is an important part of my work and one that is very close to my heart. Being able to accompany another person through change, helping them regain a sense of influence over their own life and build better relationships, gives me enormous satisfaction. I find deep meaning in this work.

I work with individuals, couples and families. In therapy I am particularly interested in change - I work with beliefs and ingrained patterns of thinking that shape our emotions, decisions and relationships. Personal history and past experiences matter to me above all in terms of how they affect life today.

My work is firmly rooted in the here and now. Together we look for new perspectives, resources and possible solutions. My aim is for therapy to lead not only to a better understanding of yourself, but above all to real change in your everyday life and relationships.

Sylwia Kowalenko with a notebook

How I can help

Family and relationships

  • Mediation and family conflict

    Working with conflict, tension and communication difficulties between members of a business family.

  • Relationships between generations

    Support in building relationships between the senior generation and successors, and in understanding each other's expectations and differing views on responsibility, influence and the future of the company.

  • Roles, boundaries and responsibility

    Bringing clarity to situations where family, ownership and business roles overlap and become a source of tension or misunderstanding.

  • Psychological support and psychotherapy

    A safe, confidential space to work on the emotions, relationships and difficulties that affect the family and the way it functions in business. Work with individuals, couples and whole families.

Sylwia Kowalenko during a session, holding a notebook

Succession and family governance

  • The succession process

    Roles, responsibilities, the transfer of knowledge and experience, and passing on values from one generation to the next.

  • Family constitution and governance principles

    Developing and setting out the principles by which the family wants to operate as an owning family.

  • Family council

    Creating the space and the rules for regular family dialogue on ownership and business matters.

  • Family foundation

    Preparing the family to operate consciously within a family foundation structure - not only formally, but also in terms of relationships and across generations.

  • Family Office and working with other experts

    Bringing a psychological and systemic perspective to processes run together with Family Offices, law firms, and tax and wealth advisors.

NextGen - finding your own path in a business family

  • Identity and your own path

    Supporting the younger generation in building their own identity and making informed decisions about the future - both within the family business and outside it.

  • Talents and potential

    Identifying natural talents, strengths and aptitudes, using tools such as the Gallup strengths assessment, and working on how to turn them into conscious choices about education, career and future roles.

  • A successor's career path

    Working on direction, education and professional experience, and on shaping a personal route into the family business - if that is the choice that truly fits the young person's potential and aspirations.

  • Preparing for a role in the business family

    Building the maturity needed for future ownership and business responsibility - understanding your role, the family's history and values, the responsibility that comes with wealth, and your relationships with other family members.

The path to understanding

Every family and every succession process is different, so I tailor the way I work to each situation. I combine psychological, systemic and succession perspectives, guiding the process in a way that fits the family's needs.

Sylwia Kowalenko in a meeting with a family - three family members sit on a sofa facing her

  1. Getting to know you and diagnosis

    I begin the process with confidential conversations with the people involved in the change. I learn about the history of the family and the business, each person's perspective, the structure of relationships, and the places where differing expectations, tensions or unspoken needs come up. A systemic diagnosis shows how family, ownership and business depend on one another and what really needs work.

  2. Direction and work plan

    Based on the diagnosis, we set the goals and scope of further work. I choose the format of the process to suit the family's needs - this may include individual meetings, work with the senior generation or the successor, meetings between generations, work with siblings, mediation, family sessions or workshops. In succession processes we also address the transfer of knowledge and experience, preparation for new roles, and the values the family wants to preserve and pass on to the next generation.

  3. The work and putting it into practice

    I guide the family through each stage of the process - I facilitate conversations, work with tensions and conflicts, and help name differences and reach agreements that can work in practice. Depending on the goal, the outcome may include agreements on roles and responsibilities, principles of cooperation and communication, a family constitution or the way a family council operates. Where legal, tax or wealth solutions are needed, the process is run in cooperation with the relevant experts.

  4. Supporting the change

    The process does not have to end once agreements are reached. If needed, I stay with the family while they are put into practice - we look at how the new roles, rules and ways of working function day to day, and any difficulties that arise become material for further work. The scope and frequency of this support are tailored to the family's needs.

In my work I use, among other things, systemic diagnosis, the 5W Succession Diamond© model developed by Dr Adrianna Lewandowska and the Family Business Institute (Instytut Biznesu Rodzinnego), and development tools including the Gallup strengths assessment. The choice of methods always follows the needs of the individual and the family.

Let's get to know each other

Sylwia Kowalenko in her office

I am a psychologist, a systemic psychotherapist, a certified succession advisor and a family mediator. I also have a background in law, which gives me a broader understanding of how complex succession processes are and helps me work smoothly with the experts responsible for their legal, tax and wealth aspects.

I specialise in working with business families - especially in succession and generational change, family conflict, and situations where family relationships meet responsibility for the company, ownership and wealth.

Many years of working with families have shown me that the most important decisions about a company are very often driven by things that do not appear in any document: family histories, loyalties, expectations, emotions and the need to be heard. That is why I do not focus only on solving a specific problem. I try to understand the whole family system and create the conditions in which a conversation about what truly matters becomes possible.

I am an expert at the Family Business Institute (Instytut Biznesu Rodzinnego), where I work within an interdisciplinary group of specialists supporting business families in the most important processes that shape their future. I also work alongside lawyers, tax and wealth advisors and Family Offices, bringing a psychological and systemic perspective to the process. This makes it possible to combine formal solutions with preparing the family for change and for actually living in its new roles and structures.

Psychotherapy remains an important part of my work and one that is especially close to my heart. I work with individuals, couples and families, including outside the business context. I accompany people who want to understand themselves and their relationships better, who are going through a crisis or a period of change, or who need a safe space to work on what has become difficult in their lives.

Get in touch

If you would like to talk about your family's situation, a succession process, working with the next generation or starting psychotherapy - I would be glad to hear from you.

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