Think back to when you were young. Did your parents have strict rules? Did they make sure you did your chores before you could play a game? Did they make you turn off the TV to play outside? All of these things could help a child have good work ethic when they get older. Having a set of rules shows discipline and self-control. The older we get, no one is controlling us like when we were kids. When you grow up with routine, schedule, and discipline, you are more likely to take those good habits into adulthood. This also ties into leadership development through the psychodynamic approach. The psychodynamic approach focuses on learned and deep emotional responses which are not conscious (Northouse, 2013). This approach states that learned habits of family dynamics effect our feelings about leadership. Psychological development produces personality types and these affect one’s leadership and one’s reactions to leadership (Northouse, 2013).
In order to instill a good work ethic into a child, they will need to have established limits, follow up on those limits, guidance with chores and homework, and reward for productivity (Ministry of Education, 2019). When I was a kid, my aunt watched my brother and I before we were in school and every summer break of school. She wasn’t extremely strict but she had rules we needed to follow on a daily basis. I truly believe these rules made my brother and I the hard workers we have grown up to be. She had an acre of land which had a very large sized garden on it. She made it fun for us to go help her in the garden. It was a chore but she never made it feel like it was a burden to do. My brother would start to mow the grass as he got older. She had a creek that she was always maintaining and building dams occasionally. When my cousins came over, we would all go swimming and play in the dam. To sum up what I’m trying to say, my aunt’s rule was you can play in or outside all day long but no watching TV until it’s later in the day. She wanted us to know the value of hard work in whatever we did. She wanted us to finish a project we started and clean up when we were done. Then at the end of the day, she would give us a treat after dinner and we would all sit down to relax and watch TV or a movie together.
It is important to give children guidelines to follow to create good habits. My aunt making us work hard all day and complete tasks first before we sat down and watched TV was a very good limit she had for us. It made us not become procrastinators and have willpower to not sit in front of the TV all day. Still to this day, I find myself not turning on the TV until I have completely everything I need to do for the day. My uncle was also like this. He was the breadwinner and worked extremely hard all day. When he came home he would sit down after he completed everything he needed to get done and not get up until it was time to go to bed. To me, this showed really good work ethic. For the most part, my brother and I would follow the rules but we weren’t perfect all the time. We would throw tantrums like every other kid would and we broke some rules. When my aunt would see that we weren’t following rules, she would take away something we loved to do for fun. This is an example of following up on the limits she set for us. If we didn’t clean up our toys the way we found them, she wouldn’t let us have dessert. This is needed in order to make a child have good work ethic.
Children need some form of guidance in most things they do especially when doing something for the first time. Homework is a good example for this because they may not understand how to do something at first. If you explain it to them and give them ideas in how to start writing a paper or help them with the first few math problems on their homework, you are setting the child up for success. This is the push they might need for finishing the paper or solving the problem by themselves. If they are struggling in finishing their homework, you could say “if you finish, I’ll let you stay up a half hour later” or “if you finish, you can have two desserts tonight.” Finding something that will motivate a child will help them complete a task. If they are doing something on their own, never let that task go unnoticed. Rewarding kids when they have done something right helps them realize that they should keep doing those same things. It also helps them feel good and appreciated when they tried hard to accomplish a goal.
The psychodynamic approach tells us that the leader must be knowledgeable about his/her emotional responses and patterns of behavior (Northouse, 2013). If you had a good foundation growing up, you will most likely become a good leader. This approach will not always be accurate in saying that someone who had a good childhood will be a great leader but will hopefully have good leading qualities. Leaders are more effective when they have insight into their own psychological makeup and subordinates (Northouse, 2013). It is very important to acknowledge the way you grew up with the values you need and others need in order to have strong worth ethic and leadership qualities. If this mind set is present at a workplace than there will be more chance of success.
References:
Ministry of Education. (2019). How to Instill a Good Work Ethic in Your Children. Retrieved from https://education.gov.gy/web/index.php/parenting-tips/item/1895-how-to-instill-a-good-work-ethic-in-your-children
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Tracy Wise says
The influence childhood experiences has on future leaders is described well in a 2014 Finnish study that I think you will enjoy reading given your childhood experience. While it centers on Finnish women leaders it supports the themes you presented such as a positive outlook of hard work and the importance of encouragement (2014). It adds that it is also important for future leaders to be exposed to (2014): safety, mutual care and affection, open relationship with home and community, and fair play.
Why is this important to future leadership? While the study does not explicitly state this, I believe it is because future leaders who experience this are likely to use these learned skills. Leaders who grew up in a safe environment, experiencing and practicing care for others, and who find community to be important are likely more apt to create an environment for their employees that mirrors this.
In addition to the attitudes and work ethics you present which are backed by the study previously mentioned, there also appears to be evidence that early childhood experiences increase an individual’s self-efficacy (Popper & Amit, 2009). Popper and Amit, in their meta-analysis, also present research that future leaders who experience a positive, supportive, and caring childhood are more likely to be open to new experiences, have less anxiety, and better problem solving skills (2009). Much like the work you and your brother did in the garden, future leaders who are challenged and encouraged to solve problems through hard work, do appear to experience more success and gain follower support (2009).
I will leave you with this final note: I recently heard a speaker say the difference between development and status quo is shifting from a mentality of it is what is to it is what you make it. I thought of this while reading your post because this is something I unknowingly believed because, like you, I was not babied. I was expected to contribute and I was encouraged to try new things. I faced challenges and instead of whining about it, I worked to find out how I could get the best experience out of it. Thank you for sharing your story!
References:
Hyvärinen, S., & Uusiautti, S. (2014). Safe and encouraging home providing the countdown to leadership? Finnish female leaders’ childhood memories. Early child development and care, 184(11), 1723-1740.
Popper, M., & Amit, K. (2009). Attachment and leader’s development via experiences. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(5), 749-763.