With all the leadership lessons of the past and present, tomorrow holds something different. Dr. Benjamin Spock, parenting expert, said, “I really learned everything from mothers.” In fact, our mothers have the gift of eloquence, a natural trait of caring and mentoring. His sensitivity towards our needs and empathy towards an experiential sharing leaves an indelible mark on our lives. They display traits that could be emulated by young minds. Our mothers know us well. They hold the key to our self-indulgence, as they have helped us evolve through the stages of life. Her three-dimensional role as mother, administrator, and mentor signifies her diversity of leadership and effectiveness in caregiving. Our mothers can truly be the guide to mentoring with style and artistry. The following is a selective knowledge guide.
Depth
Patience with thought parity and emotional balance are good signs of leadership. Patience deepens the flow of thoughts and helps control emotional arousal in dynamic situations. A restriction and freedom for our Mind to play with our thoughts and emotions can transform our personality and welcome change. New age leaders must be holistic communicators. They must be aware of, as well as monitor, the interdependence of their thoughts and emotions in the exercise of leadership. One mother’s juggling act is an illustration of her capacity and character for such holistic leadership. Her emotional depth is contagious to young minds.
Deliver
A mother’s good listening skills and her values of giving help absorb togetherness and sharing as the threshold for teamwork. It encourages the nourishment of feelings and actions and also helps to release repressed emotions to recharge our batteries of life. This turning on and off and learning to collectively contribute surely has a patronizing effect on organizational productivity. The sum total of such contribution, productivity, and satisfaction produces a greater affinity with the organization and also helps increase internal customer satisfaction—certainly the preface to a fit leadership role.
Crisis
Single mothers exemplify operational capabilities and economies of scale as heads of the family unit. Your crisis intervention can be a training parameter. Learning this art of optimizing resources develops desirable skills for the Leadership of the Strategic Business Unit. It is also training to mature intellectually and emotionally to critically evaluate the opportunity cost of our decisions. Leveraging analytical and recovery intervention skills strengthens coordination while working in large organizations. Furthermore, a mother’s transactional leadership engenders an understanding of parity between responsibility and authority at an early age, a lesson that aids contingency planning and builds competitiveness in us.
role transition
Mothers multitask by switching roles at home and at the office. Your transition leadership is a training manual on skills of preparation, encounter, adjustment and stabilization in each role. Learning this trait helps develop adaptability in young leaders as they work in project/technology-oriented organizations. It also improves managerial severity and helps cope with stress during the transition from specialist to generalist. In addition, it improves the competition for change and benefits our learning curve for an additional contribution to the organization’s value chain.
conflicts
Mothers exhibit tact as moderators during sibling fights. Your resolve is sometimes a tough love that can be a great life lesson. Your emotional intelligence can be inspiring as a trait to adopt for young minds when leading cross-cultural teams and dealing with expat issues about sensitivity to relationships and emotions. A mother’s facilitating trait also shows her tact for human relationships and can also be a good guide for superior-subordinate harmony.
Negotiation
A mother’s bargaining skills with the local market or grocery stores are commendable. Her art of selling ideas and price negotiation skills show a creative flair. Using logic and imagination to find creative solutions, just like our mothers do, can sometimes help us navigate the complexities of sales and customer relationships.
Get along
The time we spend with mother at family picnics and entertainments or even while shopping is our bond. This is the time when we forget about all the occasional arguments or disagreements. This bonding and learning to know each other better builds the foundation of relationships and is obviously a seed for sustained leadership.
Comment
The mothers’ open discussions at the dinner table encouraged self-expression to bring out the best in us. She demonstrated the qualities of a servant leader. Young leaders can be trained as coaches of their teams to lead through innovation and thinking change. Learning this trait helps build a sense of community within the organizational framework.
Leader-Manager
Our mothers make and manage the home. They lead with compassion and manage with intellect. Your altruism is a great lesson in leadership. The next generation, corporate pilot and leadership investment of tomorrow needs to absorb the resilient and selfless qualities of mothers. These traits can later become core competencies, helping young minds balance leadership and management roles in a fiercely competitive world.
Unbelievable but true, sometimes real life cases are an imminent guide for our corporate roles.