Organizational leadership lessons for the home

I have had multiple conversations recently regarding the concept of organizational leadership. I have had these conversations with my education coordinator, pastor, fellow patron in my church, and a good friend of mine from several years ago. As I have been developing my thoughts on this concept that is primarily associated with the business industry, I have most recently been flooded with thoughts about how the impression of organizational leadership can be made on the family system (You may be asking why doesn't this guy just go watch some television or something?).

Here are some of my thoughts...

I recently attended a leadership conference where the speakers were top-notch business executives, pastors, non-profit pioneers, economy experts, etc. One of the profound things that I remember from this summit was a comment by a business leader who said that the object of management in the corporate world is something from the 1850's. It was constructed to obtain maximum compliance for the most feasible reward. It is behavior reinforcement placed upon unperceptive employees. I began to assess whether this attitude has invaded the world of parenting. I could come to no other conclusion than, yes, undoubtedly so. I thought of the idea that so many Baby Boomers and earlier generations grew up in either a militant/authoritarian style environment, or dichotomously, very neglectful parents. As generations progress and information is no longer at a premium, more and more research is showing how the combination of attentive love and conscious discipline is the most effective style of parenting. Why was this such an enigma for so many generations? I believe the answer can be found in our cultural attitudes in many other areas in life, including the workplace.

I see the supportive attitude toward parenting drawing a significant connection to the way in which people become the most productive and satisfied with their job experiences. They want to have a purpose undergirding their work. And not just any purpose, but one that makes it worth coming to work every day. Also, the most productive employee is going to be one that feels somewhat of a connection to administration and higher-ups. They are going to share some type of bond, whether directly through empathetic conversation, or indirectly through a knowledge of administrators being positive role-models and advocates of a supportive work environment. This is indicative of what we see in homes where children have as many encouraging and positive people in their lives as possible. There is almost an invariable effect when kids are given opportunities to develop in purpose-driven, loving, and meaningful environments.

I believe it would do us all a lot of good to really delve deeply into the connection of how we were parented or are parenting, and how we approach our work environments. There will undoubtedly be some reciprocal benefit in both areas. The most effective/satisfied employees and (I believe) the most productive/satisfied children will be ones who are not managed through compliance, but rather are empowered through parenting that is based on harmonizing age-appropriate parenting strategies with notable amounts of love and encouragement.