We are a Family

Building a positive and enduring relationship with your team is a critical part of being successful. As a leader, I often find maximizing team engagement and retaining high-performing talent to be one of the top business challenges we face as a company. In my opinion, there’s one thing we can do to have a major impact on this- create a family environment on the team. When I use the term “family,” it might make some squirm in their seats and conjure up thoughts about happy hours and picnics. That is not what I mean here. “Family” is about creating an environment that instills a feeling of safety and belonging to something bigger than yourself.

Here at Lockheed Martin, we may spend more time with our teams on certain days than we do with our own families, so it is important to build lasting relationships with teammates and create a family-oriented environment. I was inspired by Daniel Coyle’s book, The Culture Code, where he shares these three beliefs that turns a team into a family:

You Are Part of This Team

This is all about inclusion and creating an environment where each person can bring their full selves to work every day and feel like their input truly matters. Continuously communicate Lockheed Martin’s vision and goals, and help your team clearly understand how their daily work positively contributes to the business.

This Team is Special

Know your “why.” No matter what contribution your team provides, there is something special about it. Highlight the “why” behind what you do. When your team understands their “why,” it will generate a greater sense of purpose and passion for what they do every day.

You Have a Future Here

Invest in your team. Help each team member understand their development areas and create a career path in something they have passion for (evens if it leads them off your team eventually). Then provide opportunities in projects, stretch assignments, and training to help them reach their full potential. Show that you are personally invested in their success.

What type of things are you doing to help create a family environment on your team? Share your thoughts in the comments for us all to learn from.