Reflecting on the genesis of the study of Leadership in our course materials, a salient dimension is omitted. While it’s not uncommon for psychological models that emerged from the Behavioral school, and especially in the postwar period, to reject the origins of the contemporary study of human psychology, it is odd that beyond defining personality and stating that human personality remains fairly consistent over one’s lifetime, there is no discussion of the role of family. In particular, parental leadership is scarcely mentioned. Now that we enjoy the luxury of searching entire texts for keywords, looking for “parenting,” “parents,” “mothering,” “fathering,” “parental roles” result in very few (read: fewer than 20 total for all of these subjects) references in our textbook (Northouse, 2016).
While one could respond that examining the psychology of leadership has to do with many of the personality traits that do remain constant through early infancy through adulthood, the role of the parent, who is de facto an assigned and an emergent leader (if he or she decides to raise said child) (Northouse, 2016, p. 32) is impossible to ignore. Seeing the early research by French and Raven (1959) referenced by Northouse, the dyadic relationship among the leader and his or her followers cannot be divorced from the most important dyadic relationship of any human: that of the parent and the child.
Examples of the influence of parenting upon the development of great leadership skills are aplenty. In Michelle Obama’s biography Becoming (2018), she spends nearly half of the book on her childhood alone, emphasizing the roles that her parents and in particular her harsh aunt, who taught her piano, played in making her the strong leader she became. In particular, Obama cites the humility and strength of her father, who suffered from debilitating Multiple Sclerosis. She describes her awe at his never mentioning his illness, though it was clear to the family that his condition mediated most of their family activities.
Our class discussions featured great commentaries from Caroline, Tyler, and others whose strong examples of leadership emerged from personal stories involving parents and grandparents. This is a testament to the primacy of parental role as the leader of the child/children as the first role model of leadership and also define the dimensions of being led as defined by French and Raven, including legitimacy, power, rewards, and coercion.
While these early chapters do mention the important roles of Emotional Intelligence, human skills and crystallized cognitive ability, the only hint of the role of the parent in shaping leadership might be in the idea of environmental influences from the work of Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, et alli (2000). One counter-argument to the importance of the role of the parent-child relationship determining the child’s future leadership skills is explored in Maria Konnikova’s piece in the New Yorker, which explains that scientists have not found a strong correlation between parental roles and the development of resilience (the capacity to recover quickly from challenges) in children (2016).
That said, if the qualities of leadership were easier to suss out, there would not be enough material for this course. I expect that as this course evolves, we will explore more of the social determinants that create great leaders.
French, J.R. & Raven, B.H. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.) Studies in social power (pp. 259-269). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research
Konnikova, M (2016, February 11). How people learn to become resilient. New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/the-secret-formula-for-resilience
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Obama, M. (2018). Becoming. New York: Crown
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). PSYCH 485 Lesson 2: Emotional and Social Intelligence. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2075467/modules/items/30110379
Amal Torres says
Thank you so much for your thoughtful commentary on my blog post on parenting and leadership. I was afraid that this post might not be salient, though I deeply believe it is a crucial factor in many people’s leadership. Thanks for sharing the piece you found on the BBC on leadership and the parent-child relationship.
It sounds like you did a great job in teaching your daughter judgement, and your trust in her must account for your and her confidence that she will make good decisions. Your childhood sounds similar to Obama’s and other writers’ comments that their parents were strict within the confines of what were or what became inner-city neighborhoods.
I realize that other skills and traits might make up for a poor parent-child relationship, and I would like to further research this connection.
swn5169 says
Amal,
Your blog sparked my interest making me think of not only my own childhood but now that I have a teenage daughter how parenting styles can build or break leadership in the future. It makes me wonder how many other people take the time to think of their own leadership styles in comparison to their childhood upbringing. Granted, there are some people that overcome a negative environment to be outstanding leaders but it would appear to a more rare occurrence.
I was raised in a very strict environment in a inner city. I knew right from wrong and did not stray from that doing right for fear of consequence. Other kids in the neighborhood were not being raised the same way but were in trouble. Looking back, there were also kids that seemed to have more leeway and had what appeared to be a life of being able to just live life and have fun.
I found an article on British Broadcasting Corporation, “What leader are you? It depends on your parents”. BBC stated “the more overprotective parents, the less the teens were perceived as having leadership potential by others, and the less likely they were to actually be in leadership roles” (Jarrett 2020).
My daughter just turned 15 this past Sunday and while she is held accountable for her action knowing right from wrong, she is given that leeway to make decisions. She has never been in a bubble hidden from the realities of life. She is successful in school and sports outside of school. I can see her being in a leadership role as an adult and as a parent build her up to be the best she can be.
Reference:
Jarrett, C. (2020, April 5). What leader are you? It depends on your parents. Retrieved September 09, 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200406-what-leader-are-you-it-depends-on-your-parents