I grew up hearing this phrase in the athletic world, but it wasn’t until I became a Chief Household Officer that I fully grasped the meaning of “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Think about it: Without teamwork, there is no dream moving forward…just a burnt out person trying to do it all on their own!
A family is the ultimate team in my opinion; however, we often don’t treat it as so. We get angry when our family members are not helping out. We become frustrated when they don’t seem to understand the end goals, like getting out the door on time, but we rarely do anything to fix it. Sure, a wall calendar helps for those who can read, but it quickly blends in with the wall it’s on.
So, how do we create a teamwork feel in a family so that it becomes the ultimate team?
My answer is family meetings.
I promise it is this simple, yet so many of us run away from anything that involves scheduled time with our family talking about “issues.” That’s where we have it all wrong. Family meetings are not focused on issues or problems. Family meetings are a way to get everyone on the same page, create a space for open communication, and build trust through accountability and routine.
The Top 3 Benefits to having Family Meetings
Let’s take a deeper dive into these 3 benefits, so you better understand how family meetings can create positive change in your family quickly:
1. Get everyone on the same page
Have you ever had the experience where you feel like you told your partner the schedule for the week, but they seem to have forgotten it all? You are left running around getting things done on your own. What about continually having to repeat to your kid the chore you asked them to do two days before? It leaves you wondering if you need to write it in big letters on the wall so they see it when they walk in the door? I can’t tell you how many families I have worked with that have struggled with one or both of these issues on a regular basis. Guess what: the bitterness that grows from those two situations above affect how we see our partner and our kids and the connection we have to each other.