The Buddy System Is Not a Business System

The CEO sat at his desk long after everyone else had left the office. The tap of his pen was the only sound in the room; even his laptop was closed and silent. He had to face the unpleasant facts: quarter after quarter, the company was not hitting its goals. He couldn’t understand it. His leadership team was comprised of great, capable people. Team meetings were congenial and collaborative. Conflict was almost unheard of; in fact, there was outstanding camaraderie at the top level of the org chart. It should be a culture where productivity flourished. But somehow, the business was not thriving … 

If you as owner, founder, or CEO of a business resonate with this scenario, it may be that you have unintentionally established a “buddy system” instead of a “business system” among your company’s leadership. A buddy system is where the primary relationship between leadership team members is that of personal friend rather than professional colleague. In such a system, when push comes to shove, people prioritize individual friendships over the needs of the business, ultimately hindering the company’s growth and efficiency.

A buddy system is characterized by: 

• An inability to talk candidly about roles. (“How can I tell him that this is part of his job?”) 
• A reluctance to hold team members accountable for commitments, tasks, deadlines, or goals. (“I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”) 
• A tendency to avoid engaging in conflict or discipline. (“That would be awkward.”)
• A lack of clarity about who is responsible for specific actions and deliverables. (“Didn’t we talk about that in the meeting?”) 
• A readiness to make and accept excuses. (“Well, that’s just the way he is.”)
• A propensity to avoid difficult debates or detailed discussions. (“It’s not worth getting heated about.”)
• A willingness to lower expectations. (“We were hoping for more, but this is fine.”)

In contrast to the buddy system, a healthy business system is based on leadership team members fulfilling their roles and responsibilities and prioritizing the success of the organization. That involves upholding ownership and accountability, engaging in hard discussions, making tough decisions, and all else that is required to put the business first.  

How the Buddy System Develops

A buddy system is rarely created because a leader hires his or her “buddies.” Rather, the system develops organically because the owner, founder, or CEO treats his or her team members first and foremost as personal friends, not as professionals who are employed to do a specific job and do it well. Team members take their cue from the top and assume that is how they are expected to treat each other. In such a corporate culture, hard questions such as “Are we hitting our targets?” or “What went wrong here?” or “Who owns this piece of the business?” generate awkwardness and tension and are therefore avoided. 

It should be noted that leadership team members can absolutely be both professional colleagues and personal friends. For a healthy business, however, the professional relationship needs to be prioritized while at work. In the office, team members who are friends must be willing to give an account of their actions, offer and accept constructive feedback, hammer out the best solution together, and, in general, do the tough work of running a business even if it ruffles feathers now and then. 

Accountability: The Key to Transitioning from “Buddy” to “Business”

If you have a buddy system in place instead of a business system, one simple action will begin the process of correcting it: intentionally hold leadership team members accountable for their responsibilities and commitments. For example, hold a quarterly planning meeting and ask, “What are the most important things we have to accomplish this quarter to achieve our plan for the year?” Once the priorities have been set, establish who owns the various deliverables. Be sure to request status updates during your regular team meetings: this prevents people from saying, “I didn’t know that task was mine.” Do not accept vague statements such as “We’re on track” as a status update; ask for specifics. If someone makes excuses for a lack of progress, pursue the matter to determine if there are obstacles that need to be dealt with, or if a tough performance conversation needs to be held. 

Accountability is going to be uncomfortable initially if your leadership team has been operating under the buddy system. There will be difficult discussions when people fail to follow through – as they will, because follow through has not been rigorously required. Missing goals and lowering expectations has been the norm, and it takes effort to create a new norm. But over time, accountability will energize and motivate your team members. They will rise to the challenge to be and do their best because the best is now expected of them. 

As your leadership team changes their perspective on who they are and how they function, they will demand the same excellence from their own teams. Therefore, just as the buddy system began at the top and replicated itself through the various layers of the company, accountability and professionalism that begins at the top will replicate itself through the ranks. The entire company will begin to operate more efficiently and effectively. You will not only be able to hit targets that were previously out of reach, but you will – in all likelihood – blow past them to new levels of growth. 

Shifting from a buddy system to a business won’t happen overnight, but the results are worth the effort. Embrace accountability, prioritize professionalism, and demand excellence: doing so will transform your leadership culture and position your business for lasting success.