October 13, 2021
Full House
@anthonycorletti

I grew up with my little brother and little sister. We are each three years apart.

Whenever one of us frustrated or upset the others, intentionally or not, we had to apologize and promise that we wouldn't do it again.

Time after time; whether it was a broken lego set, deleted video game progress, raised voices, or eating the last biscotti when someone else wanted it, no matter how many times we messed up we still apologized and we moved on.

After all, we are family. There for each other no matter what, no matter how many times we mess up. There is no agreement that we signed that makes us a family. We just are.

This is not the case, however, for employment.

Employment is different. You signed a contract to work with your current employer if you have one, and if you run your own business, you ask people to sign a contract when you go to hire them.

It's called at-will employment. There is no such thing as an at-will family. This is why I think you should not call your co-workers, your family. I think your co-workers can be some of the best friends you'll ever make and in that way they will feel like a family, but there is still a contract. Obviously, unless it's a family business.

They are your team. They are a team that has signed up together; to compete, to perform, to deliver, to call out garbage where there's garbage, to have each others' backs, to do the work that matters. And when a teammate does not perform at a level that the team accepts as sufficient for too long; when they slack, ride coattails, offer more reasons why things won't work instead of actually figuring it out – then it's time to reassess whether or not this person should be on the team.

Having a clear distinction between your family and those who conduct business with you will help clear your judgement when making decisions about how you spend your time and energy.

Who is on your team?