70 Family Offices Career Tips (Full List)

Be discreet about your employer. Trust is everything and confidentiality is core to your credibility. Never share details about the family, assets, or internal decisions.

Aim to really understand the family. Understand their values, their goals, their weaknesses, their conflicts. Remember, wealth holders are not always rational.

Don’t focus on one generation, try to see the full picture across all ages and perspectives. Consider the implications and impact of decisions on all generations of the family.

The family of your boss should never have to chase you for updates or progress reports.

Network across the organization. The better you know the family office, the more value you can provide.

Develop a strong radar for conflicts of interest. You’ll often be close to vendors, advisors, and family members. Spotting potential conflicts early protects everyone.

Understand the family and the family office's priorities. Make these your priorities.

Don’t assume your boss can read your subtle hints. If you want something, ask for it.

Facetime is essential. The more time you spend with senior colleagues, the more they see your contribution.

Don’t get siloed. In family offices, expert generalists thrive. So whatever your role in the organization is, educate yourself about other roles. Even if it’s not your core skill, you should understand how investments, operations, governance and reporting all connect.

Be prepared to leave. If you’re not getting the love you deserve, find it somewhere else (or leverage another offer). Family offices are not made equal and there are roles best for someone else’s résumé.

Don’t be embarrassed about pushing for a pay rise or promotion. You’ll think about it way more than your boss, just do it.

But don’t ask until you’ve proven your value. This reeks of entitlement.

Master emotional intelligence. Family dynamics can be complex and emotionally charged. So you need to learn to sense moods, anticipate reactions, and adapt your approach accordingly.

Develop systems. If you’re doing a repetitive task, your default position should be to think how it can be automated or improved. Be creative, document and systemize.

Spend time with clients, colleagues, trusted advisors, and the companies you invest in. Go for coffee, go for a drink. You’ll quickly figure out their problems and needs.

Prioritize your emails. Don’t just work through your inbox, respond to your boss, and handle what’s on the critical path.

Ask questions. Lots of questions. If you don’t understand something, don’t try to style it out. Ask.

Know what’s important to your colleagues and clients personally: their kids, clubs, interests.

Subscribe to the most useful media. To pluck a totally random example, the Mr Family Office newsletter is free and gives actionable advice!

Get comfortable suggesting ideas. Even bad ideas will help you learn and improve.

Be prepared to put in the hours when necessary. Some short-term pain brings long-term gain.

Keep a positive attitude. Family office teams are small and it can be draining if there are complainers and pessimists.

Similarly, don’t hang around energy vampires. At work or in your social life. They drain momentum.

Stay fit and healthy. Sleep and eat. If you don’t look after yourself, your performance drops. You can’t run on fumes forever.

Thirty minutes of planning on a Sunday sets you up for the week.

Similarly, review your to-do list at the end of the day. Earmark tasks for the morning so you hit the ground running.

Understand legal and regulatory frameworks. Even if you’re not a lawyer, basic familiarity with tax, trust, and estate planning concepts is essential

Set a 1-minute delay on outgoing emails. This one has saved me so many times.

Never send an angry email.

Early in your career, limit WFH. KPMG found that 74% of global family offices allow remote work. But time in the office is crucial for learning and connection.

Become a student of the family office industry. Dive into the trends, the players, and the history. Most people won’t bother, so this is an easy way to stand out.

Find mentors naturally. Seek out smart, experienced people. Ask good questions, listen carefully, and let relationships develop organically over time. (This works better than explicitly asking people to be your mentor).

Take initiative. Don’t just wait for instructions. Anticipate issues.

Manage your own career. No one is more interested in your progress than you. Given the limited number of roles in a family office, consider taking on complementary outside projects, board positions, or professional courses to broaden your skills and keep your options open.

If you achieve something, let people know. Don’t brag, but don’t assume everyone is following your progress closely.

Don’t bother the family or your boss with trivial stuff.

Do things that scare you, public speaking, lead meetings, new challenges. The more you do, the easier it gets.

Own your mistakes. Covering up your mistakes will backfire and dissolve trust. Front up and figure out a fix.

Sharpen your writing skills. Clear, compelling communication improves your standing. It also helps clarify thoughts and boosts critical thinking.

Manage your time carefully. Prioritize what actually matters. Keep your calendar tidy and visible.

Ask for feedback and constructive criticism. Regularly.

Protect institutional memory. Family offices often rely on informal knowledge passed between colleagues. Keep track of key contacts and processes so that critical information isn’t lost when someone leaves or retires.

Know Excel. Whatever your role, despite whatever new software is embraced - Excel is a fundamental business tool.

Attend family office events, in person and online. If the family is not a member of a family office organization such as the SFO Alliance, Campden Wealth, or Family Office Exchange, suggest joining to extend your network and opportunities.

Stay ethical, act with integrity. Reputation compounds.

Use social media the right way. Follow the best accounts (👀) to learn and connect, don’t waste time on pointless arguments.

Only worry about what you can control.

Understand the family’s public profile. Know how the family is perceived in the media and industry circles. Whether managing reputation, advising on philanthropy, or supporting investments, context about their public image helps you anticipate sensitivities and align your work with their values.

Build habits. Consistency beats brilliance over time.

Document your decisions. In family offices, clear records of discussions and agreements prevent misunderstandings. Even without formal systems, set up your own.

You’re dispensable, unless you make yourself essential. The best employees create their own job description.

Balance ambition with humility.

You are always representing the family – remember that, inside and outside of work.

AI is transformational. If you don’t figure out AI, you’re doomed. Study it, use it, figure out how it can amplify your skills and turbocharge your productivity. Also be very aware of the privacy risks.

Get proactive when it comes to training. Most family offices do not have formal training programs so it is often down to the individual (with advice from mentors) to direct their own professional education. Be a lifelong learner.

Learn how capital moves through the organization and the companies it invests in. Follow the money to understand priorities.

Develop financial literacy. Whatever your position in the group, you need to understand basic accounting and financial principles. If you don’t understand financial statements and budgets, you will lose credibility fast. (“I’m not an accountant” is not an acceptable excuse).

Read investment memos.

Be the one who gets things done. Finish what you start.

Show up early to meetings. Know the agenda, read around the subject areas in advance. Come to meetings with ideas and knowledge.

Stay in touch with ex-colleagues. You’ll cross paths again. This is an easy way to build your network.

Learn to tell a story with data. Numbers need narrative.

Stay curious. The best people always are.

Don’t be too proud to take on lowly tasks. In a family office one minute you can feel like a master of the universe, the next you’re sorting out a broken printer or chasing a courier. It’s all part of the job.

Build your personal brand, internally and externally.

Larger families often form cliques. Don’t get caught up in them. Instead, focus on staying neutral and helping bridge gaps between different groups.

Proactively build networks beyond the work bubble. Your network will bring ideas, deals, best practice.

Learn how decisions get made in the family. Power isn’t always obvious.

Your default answer to the family should be “yes”. That doesn’t mean an unquestioning or uncritical approach, but you should have a solutions mindset, looking for ways to make things work before explaining why they can’t.

But, speak truth to power. The best family office employees can sensitively push back against the family where appropriate.