How do you think about the people inside of your business? Are they part of your ‘family’ or are they ‘team members’?
We often hear phrases like ‘You’re part of the [X Company] family now!’, or ‘our team is building the next innovative product’. Maybe it’s just semantics? Or maybe it’s not.
Maybe there’s something deeper to the way we think about the people we work with. Those we rely on to meet certain objectives. Are they our family, or our team? Maybe something else altogether.
Netflix, one of the fastest growing companies in the world, takes a hard stance on this topic. They are squarely in the ‘team’ camp, and for valid reasons. Others are, or at least preach, a more family oriented vibe within their cultures. Frankly, I can see both working, but on a first-principles basis I index to the ‘team’ approach.
Here’s why… (per Wikipedia definitions)
Team= A group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport.
Family= A group of people related either by birth, affinity, or co-residence.
The latter (family) indicating absolutely nothing about common objectives. This is the key difference in the terminology for me.
How often have you heard the phrase ‘dysfunctional family’? What about ‘dysfunctional team’? You’ve probably heard both, but the former is a lot more common. A family tends to be a group of individuals with individual objectives and aspirations. If you have siblings, think about their goals and dreams relative to yours. Are they perfectly aligned? Not likely.
With a team, this misalignment is death. Consider a football team that has a goal of winning the championship game. If enough of the players don’t care about that goal, personally, the chances are slim of reaching it. They have to be aligned as a full team.
Team is the way to go. However, I think the spirit of what the ‘family’ mantra is trying to illuminate is still worthwhile. That is, to have each other’s backs in both the good and the bad times and to care for one another. I truly believe that. I also think great teams embody those values.
Be a team with the spirit of a family. (I need to call Reed Hastings to see if he agrees).
