How many times have you engaged in a conversation with someone at work and thought to yourself, “I didn’t realize my job would include so much parenting!”
As a leader of a team, coaching conversations often involve relationship advice, financial planning, health management, education and development planning, behavioral issues; both at work and at home!
Chris and Reina Komisarjevsky took their experiences as the parents of six children and wrote Peanut Butter and Jelly Management, drawing amazing (and often humorous) comparisons between leadership at home and leadership at the office.
For example, one of their sons was a hockey goalie, a leader on the team, and fearlessly protective of the goal. He would shout encouragement down the ice to his teammates, beseeching them to score and to assist him in protecting the goal. He would get so excited that he sometimes would wander out from the goal, eager to join in with his teammates. However, if the other team tried to attack, he would stand firm, the hopes of the team protected by him and his thick padding!
Sound familiar?
That just what leaders at work do. We keep everyone on the team working together and focused. We remind everyone of what our goal is. We help them in any way we can, often taking the hardest hits in order to protect our team.
The back cover of the book includes this note:
What does a peanut butter and jelly sandwich have in common with management? When done well, both can be enjoyable, energizing, healthy, and comforting. When done badly, they both leave you with a sticky mess and no choice but to wash your hands of it and start all over.
It goes on to list some of the basic principles that are key for both good parenting and for good leadership at work, including:
- Communicate openly
- Nurture their self-esteem
- Encourage them to do things on their own (even when it is easier to do it yourself)
- Evaluate their work constructively and honestly
- Be firm when necessary, fair always
Conversely, here is an interview with Dad and co-author Chris Komisarjevsky – who happens to be CEO of public relations firm Burson-Marstellar Worldwide – on how he applies business principles to child-rearing. The excerpt covers allowances and spending. Click here for a nice summary of the book’s key points from The CEO Refresher.
Share with us…How is your favorite parenting skill used at work? Or, how have you applied business lessons to your home life?
(Back of the Class Fun: "It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time"
I managed people for over 30 years, as few as 22 and as many as 1300. I also have two daughters and was never able to discern any difference between raising our daughters to being responsible adults and managing a workforce. The tasks involved are almost identical, not surprising since daughters and employees are human.
Managing people or raising children is a science because there are a set of laws governing human actions and reactions.
Congratulations for making people aware of the similarities.
Best regards, Ben
http://www.bensimonton.com/articles.html
Ben, Thank you for stopping by L2L and for reading and commenting on my post. I’m glad you saw application from your own experiences, as well. There certainly is overlap between good parenting and good leadership; and, in many ways, they require the very same skills.