As parents, do we lead or manage our children?

Final installment in a 10-part series on Parents as leaders. As parents we lead and manage our children.  If we lead without adequate management skills, logistical problems arise. If we manage without providing clear leadership, we may travel a long road to nowhere. Leadership focuses on developing people, empowerment, doing the right things, direction and […]

Leaders lead

Part 9 of Maren Schmidt’s 10 part series on Parents as Leaders Effective leaders empower the whole person to do the whole job of self-leadership and management.  Epictetus said it well over two thousand years ago, “No man is free who is not master of himself.” In order to help others help themselves, we have […]

Leaders are committed

Part 8 in a 10 part series on Parents as Leaders Peter Drucker, one of the greatest management minds of our time, wrote that with a few hundred years perspective, historians may view our time as one of “unprecedented change in the human condition.  For the first time–literally–substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have […]

Leaders have imagination

Part 7 in the 10-part series on Parents as Leaders Being an effective leader requires immense imagination.  As leaders we must envision the person who is not yet there; the situation that has not arrived; the community that is to be formed. As leaders we must imagine the human potential, and this is no small […]

Leaders listen

Part 4 in a 10-Part Series on Parents as Leaders As we examine the leader in the mirror, we should see improvement and growth as we work to enlarge our sphere of influence by learning and practicing new skills based on principles that represent the people and causes we value most. To grow as a […]

Leaders innovate

Part 2 of a 10-part series on Parents as Leaders Making small adjustments in our lives in terms of vision, discipline, passion and conscience provide big payback on our leadership growth and abilities. Vision requires our mental skills of using imagination and curiosity. Discipline in turn uses our mind to control our physical challenges.  Passion […]