Thomasina H. Williams serves as a Strategic Thought Partner, Consultant, and Coach to Enterprising Families. She works with clients to advance generational success as their family legacy, by being as intentional in developing their family’s human capital as they are in growing their financial capital.
Thomasina was the first in-house consultant hired by one of the nation’s largest private banks to play a leadership role in developing its offering to help ultra-high net worth clients navigate issues of family dynamics. She has also served as a family business consultant with a leading consulting firm, published articles, presented to international audiences and conducted training addressing issues of legacy family planning.
She worked for more than 20 years as a lawyer, during which time she became a partner in one of Florida’s leading full-service law firms in three years, and then co-founded the first Black-owned law firm in Miami with a primarily corporate clientele. Thomasina was recognized as one of the Top 250 Lawyers in South Florida, and the Miami-Dade County Commission named a day in her honor to acknowledge her pro bono public interest legal work.
Thomasina earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She holds certificates in Advanced Family Business Advising and Family Wealth Advising from the Family Firm Institute. She is also a member of the Purposeful Planning Institute, the Galliard Family Business Advisor Institute, the Independent Trustee Alliance and The Florida Bar. Additionally, Thomasina serves on the Advisory Board of Enterprising Women magazine.
What you will learn in this episode:
- Why Thomasina chose to move into the field of family dynamics and legacies after moving to New York to pursue her passion in philanthropic work
- Why there is a global phenomenon where a generation builds wealth, the next generation adapts to the wealth, and then the third generation loses it and has to rebuild
- Why a lack of communication within a family often leads to a loss of wealth, and how Thomasina’s own family is an example of this trend
- Why society needs leadership right now, and how family businesses can step into that role and demonstrate leadership for their communities
- Why the information we take in has a drastic impact on our mindset, and why it is important to practice self-care before trying to take care of others
- Why business owners should be proactive in having important conversations about money and finances with their children to help maintain intergenerational wealth
- What key steps family business owners can take to help second- and third-generation business leaders prepare themselves to take over the family business
- Why bringing family members into a family-owned business who are underqualified for their role is a widespread problem
- Why setting up a “family governance” plan is a good step to take, and why business founders sometimes have trouble letting go of their control
- Why transition planning is the responsibility of both the outgoing and incoming generational leaders, and why planning should address the needs of both groups
Resources:
- Website: www.sankofalegacyadvisors.com
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/thomasina-h-williams/
Additional Resources:
- Website: sharonspano.com
- Book: thetimemoneybook.com
- Events: sharonspano.com/workshops
- Contact: sharon@sharonspano.com
- Twitter: @SharonSpano