Daily Leadership Thought #121 – Employees Are Not Family
Don’t operate under the misconception that your employees should be treated like family.
Whenever I hear a business owner say that their employees are like family, I wince and get a bit nervous for them. No matter how much you care for your employees, they are not family members. Unless they are actually family members, which creates its own set of issues.
The very nature of the owner-employee relationship is that it is based on a transaction. Employees receive a paycheck to fulfill their job responsibilities. If they fail to perform these responsibilities, they become a liability and need to be removed. Additionally, very few employee relationships last a lifetime, and even good people will eventually leave for other opportunities or personal reasons. Moreover, employees aren’t children, and perpetuating a parent-child dynamic is inadvisable for both them and you for many reasons.
I urge my clients to view their businesses as meritocracies that reward performance and attitude. We should expect employees to behave professionally and maturely. If people are doing well, then treat them that way. The more they prove themselves to be diligent and competent, the more flexibility you can give them. Their compensation and other rewards should reflect the ongoing quality and outcomes of their work. In addition, I’ve always believed that owners and bosses should spend most of their time with their top performers, helping them improve, rather than with their problem employees. In contrast, the dynamic in a family is often quite the opposite (as often it should be).
Please don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating for a rigid, cold, and uncaring work environment. We should value people, not treat them like widgets. While supportive, caring, and loyal work cultures are still beneficial, they should not come at the expense of performance. Friendship in the workplace is still a good thing. However, I urge you not to confuse the issues of family and business. I’ve witnessed far too many individuals suffer as a result. They have held on to people much longer than they should have, and it has done damage to their organization.
The best thing you can do as a business owner is to surround your good people with other good people and remove their barriers to performance. Have high expectations and reward them when these results occur. When it comes to non-performers and toxic people, move them out as quickly and painlessly as possible. Your life as a business owner will get easier, and you will have more time to spend with your real family.
Related articles
- Your Company Is Not A Family (hbr.org)
- Stop Saying Your Business Is Like A Family (forbes.com)
- 4 Ways to Keep a Small Company Culture as Your Business Grows (news.terra.com)
- 9 Ways Small Employers Attract Lawsuits (bizbest.com)
- Top Ten Ideas for Employee Engagement (kellybusinessadvisors.com)
