The purpose of this study is to investigate the identity and relationship of managers in family businesses as well as the correlation between managers’ power categorization and influence tactics for their subordinates. This study has combined the guanxi theory，power base and influence tactics into our research model. The authors created and conducted a questionnaire survey of family businesses，with 289 valid samples collected from all returned questionnaires. Through ANOVA analysis and hierarchical regression analysis，it is learnt that the manager’s power and influence tactics for the subordinates are not all the same，as the managers’ guanxi networks may be different，and their relationships with the family business owners are also different. For managers having more power，especially those of a family guanxi，they are more likely to use assertive tactics in treating subordinates. The managers possessing the friend guanxi often play a bridging role to complement the function of those managers with the family guanxi，who may use the assertive tactics too strongly，and also provide a “lubricant” effect in order to keep the family business running smooth. Chinese family business is one of the most common business patterns in Chinese society，but it can’t continue to extend its business，in part due to inheritance problems. We recommend that family business owners pay more attention to relationship harmony and internal communication channels in the organization in order to attain the objectives and improve the overall performance of the family business.