Parenting and leadership often tap into the same skill sets. Many lessons learned from parenting can be applied to leadership styles in the workplace and other areas of life. Before I became a parent, I was in leadership positions at work, and my experience with applying leadership skills was restricted to my work life. Raising children forces a person to become a leader around the clock. This presents many more opportunities to refine leadership techniques and become a more effective leader. Relationship building skills from the workplace apply to parenting, and being a parent allows a person to practice consistency and assertiveness, which can be applied to the workplace. Both spheres of the work-life balance influence and reinforce each other.
Evaluating the Path-Goal Theory as it applies to both roles reveals many parallels. Being a good leader is much like being a good parent, in that you have to create a path for those under your charge to succeed. You must show an interest in their development and show confidence in their abilities, and you must provide the tools they need to overcome obstacles and succeed. These are elements of supportive leadership.
The directive leadership aspect of Path-Goal Theory, as it applies to parenting and work environment, is fairly intuitive. Clear communication of expected performance is necessary. This includes informing charges of what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and what standard is expected. Checking for understanding is very helpful as well.
Participative leadership can help bring out confidence in children, and it can help foster an innovative environment in workers. In both roles, participative leadership allows charges to express themselves and feel like an integral part of the process, to feel as though their voice is being heard and they are contributing.
Achievement-oriented leadership is useful in home and work life. Just as a parent will continue to raise the bar for their children to help them reach their potential, a leader in the workplace will challenge their followers to constantly improve. To a follower, this shows that the leader is confident in the follower’s ability to grow, which can be excellent motivation.
It isn’t always helpful to treat followers as children, as this approach will turn off a good portion of followers. However, some of the skills learned and honed from raising children will be very beneficial when applied in the workplace. I’ve found that since becoming a parent, I feel my leadership style has become more effective, and part of that performance can be attributed to practicing more leadership techniques more often at home.
I agree with you completely regarding parental leadership. I often say that leadership is leadership, regardless of where you are (although I may not say that anymore after taking this class). Many times I have talked with peers or leaders after dealing with a personnel issue and said something like, “I just had that same discussion with my son last week.” When you think of leadership in terms of leader, follower, and situation, the parent/child relationship is not much different than any other leader/follower relationship.
I particularly liked your statement, “You must show an interest in their development and show confidence in their abilities,…” I found that early in my career I wasn’t good at doing that. I did my job as well as I could, and expected that everyone else did the same. That mentality came back to bite me during one assignment because my followers didn’t feel that I was genuinely concerned for them. They thought I was only concerned about myself and wasn’t helping them to develop. Looking back I understand their viewpoint, but at the time I thought they were completely wrong. I learned from that mistake by reflecting on leadership interaction with my son compared to interaction with my followers. I showed daily interest in my son’s development, but rarely showed outward interest in the development of my followers. Like you, parenting has helped me improve my leadership skills.
Hello Nick,
It was encouraging to read your post. I enjoyed your applications of leadership outside of an industrial organization.
My parents are both psychologists, and met in childhood development research programs. I have been reflecting on their parenting styles as I am learning about psychology’s approach to parenting and leadership theories. I really admire there application of these approaches to our family, and am pleased to see the same thought process in your blog.
As I have gotten older, I have really identified with a path-goal relationship with my parents. It is really encouraging to have their emotional support, career track advise and tools to overcome obstacles.