Why does my advisor sharing his own struggles matter for our family work?

Because lived experience earns trust that credentials never can. Kris Kluver, in The Dysfunctional Family Office, has Ryan disclose his own addiction history and recovery to the Mitchell family directly. Hundred pounds heavier. A hip replacement. A knee. A wife who refused to watch him die. The disclosure isn't performance. It's the basis on which the family decides whether to trust him with the work ahead. Advisors who have actually been through hard things, and admit it, can sit with families through hard things in a way credentialed-only advisors usually can't. The disclosure also shifts the family's posture. They're more willing to be honest themselves once they see the advisor isn't speaking from a clean mountaintop. The right advisor for family transition work has skin in the game. The wrong advisor has a slide deck.