360 Degree Parenting Leadership Feedback
Greater personal insight leads to better leaders. The better we understand and develop our strengths, while facing and working on our weaknesses, the stronger leader we’ll become. We understand this at work, so many jobs offer a 360 degree feedback loop where peers and subordinates have a chance to rate a co-worker in certain categories. This type of task gives great feedback and insight to any employee. If it works at work, then why not use a 360 degree feedback loop at home with our family to help us become better leaders as parents to our children? So, I made ...
Potential Destruction at Thorne Inc.
Thorne Inc. Thorne Inc. was working through some company destruction recently. You can follow along to find out how it all played out: An e-mail to the company: What happened here? In the news: The search for truth Press Release: oops, an inside job Letter: a personal apology
The 4 Most Powerful Letters in a Parent’s Vocabulary
Words Matter There is no question word’s matter. The Bible even says that reckless words can pierce like a sword” (Prov. 12:18) and have the power of “life and death” (Prov. 18:21). We get this in the workplace and so try to watch what we say and how we say it, so as to not get fired. We understand sarcasm and yelling don't help us get promoted. But, I wonder if we apply these same principles at home? Are we as careful with what we say and how we say it with our spouse and children? My Words I was ...
What is Thorne Inc.?….from my weird family to yours: part 2
What is Thorne Inc.? Thorne Inc. is an imaginary company based around the everyday happenings of my family. As I write about leading my family, it gives me a place to apply leadership principles I'm learning in my leadership master's degree and also an outlet for humor. You can read more why I created Thorne Inc. and catch the first few humorous posts in Thorne Inc. HERE. I'll share posts related to Thorne Inc. every once in a while here on my blog. I primarily post about Thorne Inc. on the Thorne Inc. Facebook page. If you'd like to keep up to ...
What is Thorne Inc.?….from my weird family to yours: part 1
What is Thorne Inc.? I'm working on a Master's degree in Leadership and Management. As I consider the different ways to make use of all the things I'm learning, one ever-present source of application is my family. I noticed that over the years I've worked very hard applying leadership principles and skills to my work-related goals. But, so often, the people I love more than anyone else receive only my leadership leftovers. Two months ago I began asking the question, "What if I treated my family like a company and began applying all the best leadership principles I'm learning to them?" ...
The Balanced Scorecard of a Successful Family
Winning The old saying goes, “What gets measured gets done.” I recently read an article explaining how essential it is for successful businesses to develop a scorecard, indicators letting them know if they’re winning or not. Typically a business will choose one main scorecard- finances. But, the authors encouraged a more balanced scorecard focusing on different parts of the company. Also, these scorecards should be linked to the company’s vision and strategy. When it comes to your family- are you winning? What scorecard would you use to determine if your family was winning or not? The first things that come ...
4 Ways to Create Great Family Culture
Culture Matters There’s the old saying, “People don’t quit jobs, they quit managers.” They quit the environment managers create in their workplace. The most effective businesses in the world know that culture matters! Collins and Porras shared that companies built to last will have “cult-like cultures” (p. 114, 1994). They have a very clear idea of who they are and what it should be like to work in their environment. In their leadership research, Kouzes and Posner found that above all, people want to work for a leader they consider consistent and trustworthy (p. 37, 2012). Who wants to work ...
Making Decisions that Won’t Make Your Kids Crazy
How does your family make decisions? I'm talking about things like: what kids should wear to school, eat for breakfast, haircut to get, sport to play, what the family will eat for dinner, do on the weekend, and do with their free time? Families make a lot of decisions. One study on leadership determined there are 4 main decision making styles. When managing people or leading a team, it's important to determine the appropriate decision-making style that will bring about the most success for the team and development of the individuals on the team. But, these 4 leadership styles don't have to stay ...
How Parents Lead (Part 2)
As a parent, how would you describe your leadership style? I believe parents often downplay their role as a leader in their children's lives. But, if leadership is influencing others in a particular direction, in order to achieve a particular goal, then there are few things more leader-worthy than parenting. If you are a parent, then you are a leader. But, everyone leads different. If you haven't, make sure to check out part 1 of this post. Also, if you're trying to come up with a vision for your children's future larger than staying out of jail, and not getting pregnant before marriage, check out this post about creating ...
How Parents Lead (Part 1)
As a parent, how would you describe your leadership style? Sometimes you may feel like a jolly clown jovially leading your kids, while other times you may feel like a ferocious wolfman chasing your kids around the house while they scream. Or maybe you feel like the Pillsbury dough boy who giggles whenever his belly is poked, or other times you feel like a dictator whose orders must be heeded….or else. However you would describe your parenting leadership style, everyone has a style. Leadership style refers to the way you think about how you lead others. It’s the way you ...