This is part 1 of our series of frequent cultural patterns. We start with the idea of ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ.
Companies that see themselves as a family want to foster connection and harmony. The message they want to send to employees: โYou are one of us. We care about you.โ
Here is why this can be problematic
1)ย ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐, ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ข๐ญ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ: No matter your actions, you will always stay part of your family. This is certainly not the case in a company.
2)ย ๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ: A family culture implies job security, which is seldom realistic in our dynamic times.
3)ย ๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ก: In some cultures, employees address team leads as โMotherโ or โFatherโ out of respect. While well-intentioned, this hinders individuals to take over full responsibility and outgrowing current rules.
4)ย ๐๐ญ’๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐กรฉ: We already have a family. We do not need an additional one in every community we are joining, whether this is our job, our church, our gym.
How better to signal to employees that you care about them
Create an environment that is based on ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ and characterized through ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฒ. This requires strong leadership that embodies your company values and a culture that actively promotes them.
Netflix famously operates under the principle โ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐ฆ, ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ.โ They view the company as a high-performing sports team, that has to adapt their squad regularly to stay at the top. While this doesnโt sound warm and fuzzy, itโs honest and attracts ambitious people who thrive in a competitive environment.
So the question is: What image and culture aligns best with your companyโs goals? Which employees do you want to attract?