A Sense of “Family” in Our Work

It is important to recognize the vital importance of a company’s organizational culture. It is the spirit of our people. Are they engaged, have pride in their work, their team members and our company – and, really, are they happy?

Happy employees do better work.

Unfortunately, extensive surveys reveal that about half of the people working in the U.S. do not feel as if they have a helpful manager, and about four out of every five do not feel they are fully engaged. This is sad – and it is costly.

The most important person to someone in business is their immediate boss. Generally, people don’t leave their company; they leave their boss, and in today’s world, with not a lot of open jobs, people who are unhappy may not quit, they just lose their enthusiasm and care, and tone down their effort. They do not do their best work.

A message is that while a CEO, COO, and other C-Suite executives need to be caring leaders, placing great value and appreciation for their people in their home office and in the field, people of all levels, they definitely must assure that managers throughout their organization are doing so, as well. We need highly effective leadership throughout our company, and that takes ongoing training, oversight, and accountability. Then our company can shine, consistently, year after year.

The companies and organizations we work with, be they businesses or academic and religious organizations, which stand out have created and maintain a “family atmosphere”. Their people feel like they are a “family”. This is a huge difference-maker. Again, happy people do better work.

Developing a sense of “family” requires commitment. We need to:

• Treat people, all of them, with appreciation, respect, and dignity
• Communicate by speaking with them directly and regularly, and not simply by email, newsletters, and conference calls
• Regularly have one-on-one conversations with as many of our people as possible
• Lead with humility and empathy
• Ask people about their family, letting them know we care about their well-being
• Maybe grab a coffee together
• Maybe a handwritten note
• Our soft skills, smile, tone of voice, using a person’s name – these mean a lot
• Ask for and encourage people to share their ideas
• Listen with our full attention, to understand and learn
• Celebrate successes, large and small
• Help people learn, develop, and be successful. This is what they want
• Thank people for their work and dedication
• Help people feel good about themselves. This is leadership

Creating and maintaining a “family” atmosphere in our company or organization means everything, and these are just some principles and practices. In fact, it would be worth asking our people for their suggestions. They will be appreciative and we will gain valuable ideas, which almost certainly will be very helpful in serving our people.

Please, we ask that you share your ideas about how to develop and maintain a feeling of family among your people. Just shoot me an email. We will share these in a subsequent short leadership article. Many thanks, and much appreciated.