Moms and Leadership

Today is Mother’s Day, the one day we set aside each year to honor the most important person in our lives.  Mothers are essential in our development as leaders, and as I look back on my childhood, I realize that things  my mother taught me are among the most important for outstanding leadership.

 

• Mothers give us our foundations for honesty.  For those who remember their mothers having eyes in the back of their heads, we learn the importance of “conscience” from our moms.  “Don’t do anything you can’t tell your mom about” is something all great leaders use as a litmus test against which difficult choices are often made.  Yes, it gets professionally embellished into “Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want to read on the front page of the paper”, but we all know where it came from.

 

• Mothers teach us to take care of ourselves.  From our youngest days, phrases like “Put on a coat”, “Don’t eat too much junk”, and “Don’t stay up too late” remind us that taking care of our health and looking after the well-being of others is important in being a good leader.  Leaders who provide environment of well-being, give employees time off for family leave, and encourage healthy lifestyles have their mothers to thank.

 

• Mothers teach us to be polite.  From learning good table manners to writing thank you notes, mothers teach us that how we behave demonstrates character.  Every good leader knows the importance of saying “please” and acknowledging the support of spouses at an annual holiday celebration.  When things get tough in the workplace and egos run rampant, you can always tell who listened to their mothers.

 

• Mothers teach us the importance of encouragement.  As much as moms are the first to order the “congratulations” cakes and put up the streamers for the winning team, they are the people in our lives who celebrate the fact that we even tried.  It’s not about the result for most mothers…it’s about seeing a child have courage to jump off a diving board for the first time.  (Maybe that’s why all professional athletes say “Hi Mom!” when the cameras are on their faces.)  Great leaders know the importance of celebrating the effort and learning from mistakes.

 

• Moms teach us to be generous.  Although they are moms to their own children, mothers show us the importance of opening our hearts, homes, and pocketbooks to those who need more.  How many times did we all bring friends home for dinner without telling mom?   Great moms make sure everyone eats before she does.  They take food to neighbors who are sick and buy lunch for the kid on the field trip who forgot his money.   Nothing beats a leader who realizes it’s “not about him/her”.

 

• Mothers help us understand the importance of doing “menial” tasks.  Moms are usually the first people in our lives to give us “chores”.  Making the bed, cleaning the room, and clearing the table are all things that mothers train us to do for reasons unclear to most children.  But as leaders emerge, they realize that the discipline that comes from such unimportant tasks trains us to create order out of seeming chaos, and organize complex and busy lives.

 

• Mothers give us our first homes.  Even before we are born, our mothers provide us with a safe place to grow and protect us from harm.  As kids or young adults, nowhere felt more like “home” than the place where our mother could be found. It was a place we could go and be comfortable, talk about anything, do silly things and not worry about what people thought.  Similarly in business, the best leaders understand the importance of provide a “safe place” where people can be authentic, and where they can learn, grow, and make mistakes.

 

So here’s a “thank you” to all the moms who have, through their acts of love, grown some wonderful leaders.  May we continue to inspire, encourage and provide love to the world!