Recently, I was struck by the leadership lessons that are reinforced in me daily through parenting. Parenting and Leadership are different. Mainly, your employees have a choice if they want to be led by you whereas children are yours, for life. However, the similarities are more abundant to me than the differences. Here are 6 Leadership lessons that parenting reinforces for me daily.
- No, they probably will not do it just like me, but that does not mean their way is wrong.
My two children are different from each other and at times quite different from me. They find their own solutions to problems. Often, those solutions would not have even occurred to me. The magical thing though is their solutions often work just as well for them. Is it how I would do it? No. Does it get the job done? Yes. Did we learn something in the process? Always. My way is not the only way, nor is it the best way for everyone and sometimes, I need to be reminded of that.
- Disciplinary actions do not work the same on all people.
Both of my children like to push their boundaries at times which results in disciplinary actions. My oldest is a rule follower and my youngest is a rule pusher. I would not dream of disciplining my youngest the same as I discipline my oldest. It just would not work for her. She would not get it. Team members are often the same way. We all have different personality types and communication styles. This carries over into how we react to disciplinary measures.
- Motivation does not work the same either.
On that note, my children are not motivated by the same things either. One is intrinsically motivated. She wants to be better than she was yesterday and often holds extremely high expectations for herself. Her most fierce competition is not with others. It is with herself. The other is motivated by external sources. Races, competitions, being able to do something like her big sister are all great motivators for her.
- Each person serves a vital role, whether they realize it or not.
Looking at my family team, we all serve particularly important roles. Leia brings excitement and joy into the daily mundane. She loves big and gets mad big and gives us all permission to feel our emotions. Drew pushes us each to be better than yesterday and reminds us to stop to be kind to others. Their dad reminds all of us to take some time to play and I am at times a calm in the storm. As we grow together, our roles become more important, and we rely on each other to perform those roles. A good team should be the same. They each bring something important to the table and the more they grow together, the more in sync their unique traits become with the team.
- Others are not mind readers. Ask clearly for what you want or need.
We have all done this in our family lives, right? We expect the other person to just know what to do. Without explaining, I expect my children to just know what I need them to do at that exact moment. Or we expect our partner to be able to read the silence we are putting out there to know that we need their help with something. Here is a little secret – most people are not mind readers. If you want something, you need to clearly ask for it. If you want it done a certain way, you need to clearly explain it. Doing this will save you a lot of aggravation and time in the future, trust me.
- It is okay to need help.
The most important leadership lesson parenting has taught me is that it is okay to need help. Why do we all insist that we must do everything? Do any of us like the types of people who believe that they are the only ones who can take on all the things? I don’t like those types of people, so why would I want to be one? Asking for help or delegating is the secret to running a successful home and business.
So, I am 9 years into this parenting gig and those are my standout lessons thus far. What has parenting taught you that has been applicable to your business? I would love for you to share with me! Email me at Candi@TrainerTainment.net.
