My Collection Grows

My collection of parenting quotes that apply to leadership is growing! Here are some recent additions.

Parenting quotes	…edited for leadership
“There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.” -Hodding Carter, Jr.	“There are two lasting bequests we can give our employees. One is roots. The other is wings.”
“Children thrive when parents set before them increasingly difficult, but always meetable challenges.” – Anonymous	“Teams thrive when leaders set before them increasingly difficult, but always meetable challenges.”
“If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.” – Haim Ginott	“If you want your employees to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.”
“Parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have children who step on their toes.” -Chinese Proverb	“Leaders who are afraid to put their foot down usually have employees who step on their toes.”

I’m on a mission to collect more quotes like these. Parenting quotes that apply to leadership. Leadership quotes that apply to parenting. Do you have one to add?

–Karen

Image courtesy of smarnad / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
© 2014 by Karen Catlin. All rights reserved.

May 6, 2014 karencatlin

The Best Quotes for Leadership AND Parenting

I love collecting leadership quotes that apply to parenting, and parenting quotes that apply to leadership. Here are some of my favorites, both in their original form and after I edited them ever so slightly.

Leadership quotes	…edited for parenting
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch	“Before you are a parent, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a parent, success is all about growing others.”
“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” – Richard Branson	“Train children well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”
“As a leader, you have to have the ability to assimilate new information and understand that there might be a different view.” – Madeleine Albright	“As a parent, you have to have the ability to assimilate new information and understand that there might be a different view.”
“Treat employees like they make a difference and they will.” – Jim Goodnight	“Treat children like they make a difference and they will.”
“Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” – Tom Peters	“Household management is about arranging and telling. Parenting is about nurturing and enhancing.”
“Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” – John C. Maxwell	“Parenting is not about bragging rights. It is about one life influencing another.”
“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” – Dolly Parton	“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent parent.”
“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” —Rosalynn Carter	“A parent takes children where they want to go. A great parent takes children where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”
“A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward.” —Ovid	“A parent should be slow to punish and swift to reward.”

Parenting quotes	…edited for leadership
Don’t yell at your kids. Lean in real close and whisper, it’s much scarier. – unknown	Don’t yell at your employees. Lean in real close and whisper, it’s much more effective.
“Perfect parenting does not exist, and it is the imperfections that lead to resilient children.” – Rev. Dr. Katharine Schori	“Perfect leadership does not exist, and it is the imperfections that lead to resilient employees.”
“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” – Jane D. Hull	“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to an employee’s success is the positive involvement of leaders.”
“The child supplies the power but the parents have to do the steering.” – Benjamin Spock	“The team supplies the power but the leaders have to do the steering.”
“What a child doesn’t receive, he can seldom later give.” – P.D. James	“What an employee doesn’t receive, he can seldom later give.”

And I sometimes find a quote that combines them both:

“I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn’t.” —Dee Dee Myers

Do you have a favorite leadership quote that works for parenting? A parenting quote that works for leadership? Please share it in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

–Karen

Image courtesy of smarnad / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
© 2014 by Karen Catlin. All rights reserved.

July 31, 2013 karencatlin

Ask the Readers: Do you have a favorite book for parenting AND leadership?

I’m always thrilled to come across leadership books that give me ideas for being a better parent, and parenting books that I can use professionally to make me a better leader. I’d love to read more of them. Do you have one to recommend?

Earlier this week, I visited Hackbright Academy to help with a workshop on interviewing skills. Poornima, my partner at Femgineer, taught the workshop, and at one point she mentioned that I have a blog about the intersection of leadership and parenting. Her comment led one of the students to approach me at a break to find out more about my blog. She shared with me that she has two children, and that, for years, she’s been noticing overlaps in parenting and leadership. In fact, there was a single book that had a huge influence on her both her parenting and leadership styles. It’s called “Mindset” by Carol Dweck. I’ve added it to my list to read!

I bet there are many more books that cross-over between parenting and leadership. Chances are they were written for one audience or the other, but the advice is applicable to both home and work.

Do you have one to recommend? A parenting book that gave you ideas or inspiration to be a better leader? A leadership book that helped you with a parenting challenge you were experiencing? Please leave a comment to tell me about your favorite books. I’d love to read them.

–Karen