Claiming "we are a family" in a business environment is always a reg flag for me. Team is a much better metaphor. Sports teams back each other up, but ultimately underperformers get dropped. You don't get fired from a family, you don't stop being a brother, sister, father or mother.
This. The most tight knit people I've met are in military special operations: Nothing comes close to the combination of technical skills, teamwork and ability to mitigate "interpersonal friction" that those guys have, IMO.
The telling thing is: Not once have I heard these folks refer to themselves as a "family" - almost like it is an insult to what family really is (separate and sacred). Only have I heard them refer to themselves collectively as a "team" or a "community".
Check out any books / articles relating to the Marine Corps' "The Basic School" - It is where newly commissioned officers (and warrant officers) learn how to lead Marines.
My fav is: "One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer" - by Nate Fick.
Long story short - The Basic School and training cadre are so effective at producing outstanding leaders, that MBA programs like Harvard and Wharton have built in a number of aspects of it to their "team building" courses / sequences:
http://news.smeal.psu.edu/news-archive/2014/united-states-ma...
My view on this is that the people I work with are colleagues and not family. I don't consider coworkers friends. I'm friendly with them, but not friends. We're at work to mutually put money in each other's pockets, not to form deep personal bonds. This view takes some finesse to develop; it's a fine line to walk, but I've found it works for me
Thanks for the great analogy. My employer had layoffs recently but has always referred to employees as family. always thought that was a terrible analogy as you said because you don't fire your mom or dad.
