A Company Is a Family Not a Team

As a business owner, I’m often interested to see organizations preferring to avoid and in some cases even refuse, to refer to their employees as a family, preferring to use the more neutral, label of “team”.?

It’s easy to see why this happens - “family” has a blood connotation and a connection many may find a little too intimate and familial for the workplace.?

A team, on the other hand, projects the idea of neutral positioning and a clear delineation of objectives. On a team, the goal is what connects everyone, not their relation to each other.?

Employers often believe that the term “family” includes entitlements and that its structure prevents them from being able to make tough decisions to fire low-performing employees or hire the management and leadership necessary to achieve greatness.

I’d like to challenge this notion that a company can't be a family based on the premise that, up until this point, we’ve been defining and citing the term “family” incorrectly.?

Re-examining How We Define “Family”

If you take a quick look at how the word family is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, you’ll find that it has 2 essential meanings, 10 definitions, and 19 variations.?

There are numerous other definitions of family stemming from interpretations specific to litigation, census, socio-economic, and taxonomic.

It’s clear that “family” is a term with multiple meanings applicable across a variety of contexts. Why then do we constantly choose to define it in such a limiting capacity, especially when it comes to business?

The Changing Nature of the Family

Do we know a family when we see one? Does anyone know? At face value, what a family physically looks like continues to evolve and change with the times, as expected.?

If we were to try and identify families based on external appearance alone, it would be nearly impossible to do so accurately. The world has become more globalized and interconnected.?

Our societies have become vibrant melting pots of different cultures, and future generations will no doubt become more intercultural. “Family” in the 21st century has moved beyond the traditional “blood ties” thinking.?

So if trying to determine a family based on external physical appearance is an outdated exercise, what key identifiers suggest a familial connection, and how can we identify them?

In my view, a group of people who appear to be close in their relationships with each other, appear supportive of one another, challenge each other and work together towards a common interest would most likely be a family, exhibiting identifiable and healthy family dynamics.?

The keyword here that I want to reinforce is “healthy”.??

The Family as the Facilitator of Development

To combat the persistent idea that a family is static and can’t evolve, change, or adapt, I would point to the natural social evolution of families as evidence to the contrary.?

Historically, society as we know it is the way it is thanks to the constant resilience and adaptability of families.?

Members who share a common set of underlying beliefs (making up their culture), who are supportive, who communicate, who provide tough love when necessary and who take action toward unity, and are willing to make sacrifices for the greater good of the family will, by default, create the strongest and most prosperous family.?

I believe this idea ties in directly with the Native American origin and definition of the term “family” (and the definition I personally most align with).?

In traditional Native American culture, the family serves as a facilitator in the development of its members. It does this according to role, not necessarily according to age (Red Horse, 1980).?

The family consists not just of blood relatives but also extends to non-blood-related members who nonetheless are active and important contributors to the family’s existence.?

Family support goes beyond the satisfaction of physical and emotional needs and encompasses cultural and spiritual nurturing and maintenance, as well as providing care and being cared for in return.

In this regard, the family is more than individuals connected by blood or circumstance, they are a thriving group of individuals contributing to each other’s success and well-being.?

Individuals who degrade or detract from that well-being will find themselves excluded from the family collective.?

Why A Company Is Not a Team

In contrast (and the reason why I don’t subscribe to it) the analogy of a team comes from the nature and dynamics of a sports team, where there is an endless need for the best people in every seat who are interchangeable and, ultimately, replaceable.?

The scoring of output also undermines the effectiveness of a company working as a team, in my opinion.?

As an employee, you should always be striving to achieve your best while at work, however, output tracking and scoring create consistent pressure and competition amongst co-workers to score the most points and gain the highest metrics - the implication being if you don’t, or score the lowest, you’ll be replaced.?

Of course, the idea that you need to have the best people in your workforce does make sense from a KPI and goal perspective - but I don’t think it fully translates from athletics to business.

The underlying connotation of energy and physical prowess is persistent in the idea of a team, no matter how we try to distance it.??

A company, on the other hand, doesn’t function on physical condition but rather mental. Mental prowess has more nuance than physical and includes factors like emotional support, EQ, motivation, critical thinking, intellectual acumen, experience, and so on.?

While physical prowess declines with age, mental prowess and experience generally do the opposite. It’s easy to see how the terms “family” and “team” are at odds when you examine both of them from this angle.?

From the traditional perspective of a family, the eldest, possessing the greatest wisdom and experience, are most valued, while on a traditional team it’s generally the youngest, fittest and fastest members are considered most important.?

In my belief, it’s hard to support the idea that business success relies on team dynamics, driven by speed and competition when incremental experience and wisdom are what usually help steer business decisions through numerous challenges and uncharted territory.??

It would make sense then for a company to embrace the dynamics of a family as opposed to a team, cultivate longevity instead of high turnover and replacement, seek unity, and develop a collective sense of belonging to unite everyone in it.?

Looking back at the high-pressure, high-performance culture that businesses have fostered in recent years, it’s no wonder so many large organizations are seeing their employees depart in droves, while others are attracting high-value talented employees who are leaving weak or toxic work cultures behind.?

Don’t get me wrong, comparing a company to a family doesn’t mean that the familial unit extends to everyone. In reality, it extends strongest to those who are active participants and contribute the most in a healthy manner.??

Some family members may initially be strong contributors and then move away, go their separate ways, or fall out of favor due to certain actions.?

Inclusion is not unconditional and needs to be earned and someone within the family could easily find themself out of the family if they don’t play their part or negatively impact someone else who is.?

Conclusion

At Botkeeper, I’m happy to call everyone with us part of the Botkeeper family. I truly believe this is the most accurate depiction of the relationship we have between the people here and amongst the organization as a whole.

We’re fortunate to have a healthy, high-functioning family, with the hopes of creating a positive and enduring legacy that would make anyone proud to be part of the journey.?