ABSTRACT
Organisations function in many ways like large families – families linked not by blood ties, but by an ostensibly common purpose. Sibling dynamics arise in any situation which involves teamwork and are an inherent factor in organisational life. Sibling issues are endemic in organisational life. They emerge in personal relationships between members, they infiltrate into the dynamics between different factions and departments, and they impact on the culture and expectations of the organisation as a whole. The ‘split off’ feelings are often projected into the sibling matrix. It takes a very mature organisation to recognise that sibling difficulties in the workforce are very likely to be linked to how the leadership team manage their authority, and need to be understood in terms of the sibling matrix in the organisation as a whole.
