Hi there and welcome. It’s Kerstin Jatho here from 4Seeds Consulting, a transformational coach who shifts people from languishing to flourishing. In this video, I want to talk to you about the concept that a company is not a family.
I recently came across an article from Adam Grant, an organisational psychologist, who spoke about the concept of companies instilling family-type environments or cultures. But that is perhaps the wrong thing to do. And, after having read the article, I agree with him, and you might be surprised about that.
The problem is that we are setting unrealistic, positive expectations from everybody – which we will not be able to follow and honour – either as leaders or as followers. So, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
The second one is that we actually then start measuring performance based on the relationships, and not always on the deliverables. So, the conflict comes in that we struggle to sometimes hold people accountable. That absolute empathy component comes in. Should I let this go, or should I accept this? Because it’s a family, so we’ll let it go. The relationship is more important, and a company does not operate like that. We need to actually balance both of them. So, bringing in the people component as well as the cost component. So being humble, however still making sure items are delivered.
The third one is … and as insane as it sounds, but most families are dysfunctional. And do you really want a company that’s dysfunctional? And the answer is no. You want your employees to be performing at their best. So, we need the environment to demonstrate that, and not have a dysfunctional environment.
So, in the end, you might not agree with me or Adam Grant on this concept. But I do want you to think about this. Does a family environment or culture in your company actually serve the strategy? And isn’t there a different way that you can do it without losing the humanity in the workplace.
Over to you for sharing your comments and experiences.
Does your company maintain that balance?
About the Author: Kerstin Jatho
Kerstin is the senior transformational coach and team development facilitator for 4Seeds Consulting. She is also the author of Growing Butterfly Wings, a book on applying positive psychology principles during a lengthy recovery. Her passion is to develop people-centred organisations where people thrive and achieve their potential in the workplace. You can find Kerstin on LinkedIn, Soundcloud, YouTube and Facebook.
