Parenting as a Leader
It’s odd to think about parenting as a leadership role and yet anthropologically speaking they are the same.
A leader is…
Someone who has followers
Has the capacity to translate vision into reality
Empowers others
And is influentional
A parent is…
Someone who has followers (children)
Has the capacity to translate vision (of family) into reality
Empowers their child
Influences their child
If you were a leader in corporate for a moment and not a parent, you would have access to leadership assessments, benchmarks for best practice, leadership development and you would know your leadership style. And yet when it comes to parenting, we find ourselves winging it, eventually settling for a rhythm that works, often over what is best.
With good reason..working parents are overwhelmed, inundated from every possible angle and somehow trying to make it all work.
With many households commonly needing both parents to be working to cover the costs of a home and raising a family, they find themselves out of the home for long periods of time. If not managed this results in work getting the best of you and family getting what’s left.
With working and parenting appearing as they are at odds, we can look to leadership for answers. The best leaders have learnt how to manage the overwhelm of demands placed on them whilst still connecting, empowering and influencing their followers.
So what can working parents learn from great leaders?
What I’ve experienced in my own parenting and what we’ve found with our clients is, it’s about developing authenticity.
