Leadership Lessons from Mom

In honor of all the Moms (including my own), here's a two part post Becky wrote for Mother's day:

My friend Lisa is the head of a small corporation in a position valued in the 6 figures. She is also a stay at home mom. Salary.com has a new way to figure out the value of a mom's work. Their annual survey details the wages an employer would have to pay to perform all of a mother's duties. The total for a stay at home mom: $122,732.

According to the survey, the job titles that best match a mother's responsibilities are Laundry Machine Operator, Janitor, Van Driver, Housekeeper, Computer Operator, Cook, Day Care Center Teacher, Facilities Manager, Psychologist—and Chief Executive Officer.

As a CEO, a mom maximizes resources, oversees day to day operations, plans for the future, sets goals, and creates a family culture and identity. The best moms are great leaders, and the lessons we learn from them are useful in any leadership setting.

Great moms (leaders) use words and actions to clearly communicate the vision and values of their family (company). As a leader helps his employees understand the mission of the corporation, a mother provides a framework to help children understand the world around them. As moms, we help our children understand what is important to us both explicitly - "In our family, we use kind words" and implicitly, by modeling appropriate behavior.

Read the rest of post here.

Yesterday, I asked the question: What is a mom's most important work? And the answer is complex; often behind-the-scenes, moms are helping to shape the lives and character of their children. Their roles as leaders are obvious. These leadership lessons from moms can be good tools to put into practice for people who want to make a difference in their families, communities, or organizations.

Great moms (leaders) build a cohesive team. Teamwork is important in companies and families. To get things done, people need to work together well. Effective leaders facilitate teamwork by encouraging cooperation among people and departments. People who are proud of their company and their place in it work harder to achieve the company's mission. Parents can promote a team mentality in their families by helping their children develop kind and caring relationships with each other and providing opportunities to work and play together.

Read the rest of this one here, and more on leadership and leadership development. Welcome to the blogosphere, Leadertalk!

I'd also like to introduce another new blog, 2nd Ladder, for those interested in starting a second career. It's written by Bill Matthies, author of Business Widom.