That's not hard - try being a parent!

You think your job is hard? I don’t think it is that hard.? Now, being a parent is hard.

There are many days in the last 22 years, I would argue I won father of the year.???

• The time when I forgot my kid at ballet. ?
• Or the time, I had to delay paying child support.??
• Or the time I lost her in the mall.??
• Or the time, I refused to let her use the restroom alone at Chicago O’Hare Airport. She was 8.? LOL.

But none as funny as that day I said, “Your arm isn’t broken.? Let’s go get tacos.”

Kora, who is always a trooper, smiled through a fountain of tears and said yes.??

We went to get tacos and the entire dinner she sobbed and ate her tacos with her other hand as her other arm hung useless by her side.???

I’m still laughing at the sheer insanity of my brain and naivety of the entire situation.??

She’s not.? She still reminds me of all of the instances above and about 10 or so more.??

Some I forget and some hurt too much to mention here.

As she prepares to graduate from college in a month or so, I want to acknowledge her as my teacher.??

If I ever had a teacher who made the biggest impact on my life and career, Kora would be the biggest.

Learning to navigate her childhood, teenage years and now her 20s has never been easy.??

But they have all taught me about myself, how I am, who I am and most importantly who I aspire to become.

Being a parent and being a manager have a ton of similarities. And neither are easy.??

If someone tells you that being a manager is easy they are lying. And I’ve never heard someone say that being a parent is easy.

Yelling at her never got me anywhere.? Yelling at my team wouldn’t either.??

Coming down too hard on her never inspired her to be more productive. Doing that to a team member doesn’t either.??

The biggest thing I’ve ever learned about being a boss or a manager is that it is the same as being a parent.??

Learn and become invested in who your team members are.? Care about them by investing and creating a relationship with each member separately.

Learn about their families, loves, hobbies and dreams.??

Kora played soccer for more than a dozen years. I never knew anything about soccer.??

Frankly, I wanted her to play softball.? She didn’t.??

So, I learned about soccer.? I watched it. Read about it. Studied YouTube.??

Eventually I became a huge fan. You might argue I am a bigger soccer fan than her. Go Spurs!

The point is in order for you to be a change agent, leader or a manager – you need to take the time to develop the relationship.??

Without a blood bond, relationships must be built on your belief that the person next to you has something you want to learn about.?

And your curiosity about them cannot be transactional .?

It can only be done when you are not looking for something in return.?

The give.? Without the get.??

Want to learn more about how you can become a change agent in your workspace? Drop me a line here.?

Happy International Women’s Day, and happy birthday to my beautiful daughter!