Let's Talk Family Enterprise Podcast - From Stigma to Strength: Andrew Keyt on Mental Health in Family Enterprise
Host Aileen Miziolek speaks with Andrew Keyt, founder of Generation6 and a business strategist and succession planning expert with more than 25 years of experience working with family enterprises. Andrew previously led the Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center and the Family Business Network – United States, and is the author of Myths and Mortals: Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning.
The conversation explores why families often reach for more governance and structure when conflict resurfaces, even when the underlying issue may be an unaddressed mental health challenge such as depression, anxiety, or substance use. Andrew explains how individual struggles can ripple through the entire family system, why privacy and stigma can leave families feeling isolated, and how to balance compassion with accountability when someone needs help.
He also shares practical starting points: leading with curiosity rather than diagnosis, building a "protection team" of trusted truth-tellers, and treating emotional openness as a skill families can practice rather than a one-time fix.
This episode offers a candid, research-grounded look at why emotional health belongs at the centre of family enterprise resilience, and how families can begin talking about what is often the hardest topic to raise.
Guest Bio
Andrew Keyt, MFT, MBA, is an internationally known business strategist and succession planning expert for family-owned businesses. He has established a global reputation for advising large family enterprises, resolving family conflict, and restoring communication. His family business insights were featured in The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Fortune Magazine, The Economist, and Family Business Magazine.
Before founding Generation6, Andrew was President and Founder of Keyt Consulting, assisting family enterprises with succession and strategic planning, dealing with family conflict and communication, and executing emergency management transitions. He has worked extensively with some of the largest enterprising families in the United States.
You can learn more about Andrew Keyt on Linkedin, the Generation6 website, and on AndrewKeyt.com.
Key Takeaways
[:22] Aileen Miziolek welcomes Andrew Keyt and launches this episode by asking him how he came to focus his work on the intersection of mental health and family enterprise.
[4:13] How the COVID pandemic underscored the importance of mental health challenges in family enterprise dynamics.
[5:42] Leaning on structure can be misleading when tackling emotional problems; Andrew explains the pathways to building a safer environment.
[7:56] Andrew offers some tips on how to open the door to a safer environment and healthier patterns for family systems. He also highlights early pitfalls to watch for.
[10:09] A family impacts each other every day; making sure we care for the well-being of every member of the family is critical in ensuring the system remains healthy.
[12:40] Andrew explains that there are many paths to holding people accountable for their behavior and touches on the importance of boundaries while leading with love and compassion.
[14:20] Coping with all the change starts with understanding the situation and building the proper support structure for the situation.
[15:57] Andrew explains where privacy concerns stem from and how to counter them. All breakthroughs come from some measure of vulnerability.
[19:58] The skills to create safer environments begin with emotional regulation and consistency. Andrew explains how this practice is honed and why this practice is critical.
[22:33] Unity and cohesion are what sustain families across generations. Andrew breaks down the paradox between individual and collective.
[26:01] Mental health issues that stay unaddressed generally get worse, and when it comes to enterprising families, the health of the system can directly affect the health of the business.
[28:13] Looking out for changes in behavior can help speed up the identification of possible problems,
[30:07] Where can families start?
[32:16] Andrew touches on the nature of the process when multiple support resources are available.
[34:04] Andrew offers the one thing he believes every advisor should add to their practice.
[35:05] The couples that stay together have common characteristics that can be cultivated by families.
[38:12] Andrew shares some resources.
[40:06] Aileen thanks Andrew Keyt for sharing so much of his expertise and invites listeners to subscribe.
Mentioned in this episode
Andrew Keyt’s book From Stigma to Strength: Cultivating Mental Health for a Thriving Family Business (available through Amazon).
Family Enterprise Foundation’s publication From Silence to Strength: Mental Health in Family Business
