04 Jun Parenting as leadership
I have, increasingly in recent times, been thinking and talking about parenting and in particular, the issue of enhancing happiness in children. As a parent myself, there are few (if any) things more important than my children’s happiness!
At the same time, I spend much of my time talking about happiness at work and working with teams and organisations to increase happiness (and engagement, morale, satisfaction etc) in the workplace. Within this domain I often find myself talking about leadership and it strikes me that leadership and parenting have much in common!
Consider the following points covered in an article I read recently on leadership; it highlighted the following key points:
– Encourage passion in employees
– Help staff build on their abilities
– Value the time of others
– Help colleagues build their networks
– Support people’s dreams
– And assist workers to expand their contributions
Now although not directly related to happiness it does not seem such a stretch for me to extend this to parenting and to ideas for enhancing happiness in children. It’s entirely consistent with our approach, for example, to help your children…
– build on their passions
– enhance their abilities
– by spending and valuing time with them
– build positive relationships
– clarify and strive for their dreams
– contribute in as many ways as possible
Good leadership. Positive Parenting to raise happy children. Are they one and the same thing?