Bottom-Line Behavior

3 leadership mistakes quietly killing your culture

What closely held and family business owners get wrong — and what to do about it.

By Denise Federer
| 5:00 a.m. July 20, 2026

Advice

Just about every business leader I've worked with truly cares about their people. They'll tell you their team is their most important asset — and they mean it. But caring about your people and leading your people are two different things. In my work as a family business consultant, I've seen the same leadership mistakes happen over and over. And in many cases, these mistakes compound over time to erode the culture of an organization.