The current setting of organizations has demanded managers capable of working in environments marked by rapid changes, interdependency relationships and diversity of work force. However, the development of so called managerial competence is not an easy process, as it involves not only the understanding of the best managerial practices but also the capability to act in a different way. In this research, we pursue a better understanding of the individual in his organizational performance, through an interdisciplinary view, using the reference of systemic family theory. We seek to evaluate how the experiences lived by the family of origin are expressed in the professional practice of the managers. With that objective, we interviewed 30 managers from different companies, and the data were treated using content analysis. We found out that the family represents significant strength in the development and maintenance of characteristics which make up the competence of leadership, motivation, communication, negotiation and solution of conflicts, decision making, creativity and team work. We have concluded that those characteristics may also happen due to the ethnic as well as social and economical origins of the family, the transmission of postures deriving from the family members, family standards, critical events, the expectations regarding the individual as well as the roles played by him, and the significant talks by the family members. It does not, however, result in a simple cause and effect relationship, since families can set references which may or may not be followed in their multiple aspects. Finally, we suggest that the concept of self-knowledge in managerial literature should be widened, in order to incorporate the knowledge of dynamics lived in the family of origin, since this seems to be an important step in the process of differentiating the individual, reflecting upon his capability to choose and adopt new patterns of behavior.