Lessons Learned as a Parent & Leader

As a parent I've often drawn on lessons learned during my leadership journey. To be clear, I'm still learning! I don't always get it right. Being a parent or a leader is humbling. But with humility and grace, you get the awesome opportunity to make a difference in someone's life.

As my daughter took that next step in her journey and started college, it got me thinking about how similar the goals of a leader and a parent are and how often those lessons learned apply.

The goal for both is the same. To help those in our care see and achieve all they are capable of. I don't have all the answers but below is a short list that guides me.

1. Find and nurture their unique talents. We have all seen the parent pushing their kid to pursue what they want. What we usually don't see is the passion, joy, and excitement that in the long run creates sustained success and happiness. One of the joys of parenting is finding out what your kids love and feeding that passion. It may change over time, but I'm 100% certain we thrive when we pursue what we want vs. what we think we need to. Nurture strengths at work instead of chasing weaknesses and you'll create incredible energy, and impact.

2. Tailor your communication, coaching, and support based on each unique individual. As a parent or a coach, it is your job to adapt to what they need if you hope to touch their heart and energize their mind. What inspires one can shut down another. You need to know yourself and you need to know those you hope to inspire as individuals. Then you need to adjust how you coach and communicate based on what they need. It is the only way to "break through".

3. Allow them to stand on their own, fall, and pick themselves up. Our job is to provide the tools for success. Teach, coach, push and ultimately allow them to stand on their own, take risks, succeed and fail, and learn from both. We don't walk away, but to see what they are capable of they have to do it! A great parent (and leader) can be heard cheering loudly and proudly when good things happen. We all want to be recognized for our hard work, making good choices, achieving success. We also know failure happens; mistakes are made. Even when we do everything right, the wind can turn on us. In those moments, our job as parents and leaders is to pick them up, carry them on our shoulders if necessary, and help them to keep moving forward.

4. A strong foundation is EVERYTHING. The values and beliefs that guide you inform what you pursue and how, the decisions you make, and the impact you have on others. What is important to you, what impact do you want to make? None of us meet our own standard every day, but I firmly believe defining that standard, focusing on it, and working toward it every day is the only path to sustained "success". (That success is defined by your values, not your valuables!)

5. Be Grateful. As a leader, we ask for the responsibility to help others achieve their best. As a parent we get the honor to watch a child learn and grow, to pick them up when they fall, be their biggest cheerleader, and everything in between. And hopefully, with the right foundation and a laser focus on what makes them an amazing individual, we get to watch them soar!