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On Monday, many of us celebrated the Family Day holiday here in Canada… which got me thinking.
This past week, I spent most of my time doing family things. I visited my son in Toronto and celebrated his upcoming birthday with him. Then I visited with my daughter, son-in-law and my new grand daughter in New York State.
Spending time with all of them was so important to me, as it meant I could maintain actual contact with them, not just face time or text messaging.
“Family is not an important thing. It is everything.” Michael J. Fox, Actor
You see, I grew up on a farm, working the family business every day. Daily chores with livestock and working the land, seeding, harvesting and doing this all before and after school and, of course weekends.
It wasn’t easy but as a family it was our livelihood, and we all had to pitch in and help. We had to work together and be innovative in how we approached issues. It was the only way to survive.
We had to rely on everyone in the family.
So my early experiences ingrained in me the importance of family and that you were expected to help and look out for your family members. Even though there were setbacks and difficult times (because there always are) we stuck together to make the family farm a success.
I didn’t realize how much I would come to rely on the ‘military family’ after I got married to an air force pilot, and started moving all over the country and world. I came to appreciate very much the help I got from this family, because my husband was often deployed and not available, even in foreign postings.
This family came to my rescue on many occasions.
But what I really appreciate is that these experiences ingrained in me a ‘family’ leadership approach to business. I have applied this approach early in life to my franchise business, and then today to my network marketing business.
We do have a choice. We can treat the people we work with as simply colleagues or we can treat them like family.
I guarantee that if you treat them as family, you will always better results.
Why? Because being treated as family makes one feel special and connected to something bigger than just a job.
It means they have a say, are listened to, supported, helped when they need help, treated with respect, and they understand that they have a vested interest in the business.
They feel connected. They are loyal. They don’t leave.
We all want to be part of a family, a community, which is really just a bigger family. That is how we have survived as a human race. By forming families, clans, tribes, etc and supporting each other.
“Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.” – David Ogden Stiers, Actor
This is so important especially in the network marketing business. Retention is key.
And that is why making your team feel like family is vital.
So think about it. Do you treat your team like everyone of them is a key member of your business family? Do you treat them like you would want to be treated?
I am so grateful for my families – my personal one and my business one.
Remember, no matter what happens you have family.
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