Motherhood and Leadership

My wife maintains, and I agree, that “raising a child is the hardest job in the world.” It’s true on-the-job training.  No book or course can prepare you for the reality.

An analysis of what it takes to successfully raise a child would show that the soft-skills required are similar to those of a LEADER.  Children go through various stages and are each unique.  Hence, an effective mother (or father) must be able to react and navigate through a complex maze of obstacles as they steer their progeny towards functional adulthood.

ARE THE BEST DENTISTS THE BEST LEADERS?

I have found that leadership soft skills are the most critical to practice success.  You can have the most knowledge, expert-level dental skills, the latest technology, and the best systems, but without leadership, a practice is rudderless, being pounded by the waves, taken by the currents and pushed by the winds.  Yet, there are no courses in leadership given in dental schools and few, if any, geared to dentists in CE courses.

Take the Leadership soft skills assessment. How would you rate yourself in each of the following?

Score yourself from 1-4.

1: No skill, 2: Barely Competent, 3: Competent and 4: Expert.

What’s your score?

How would your team score you?  Would you be secure enough to ask?  How did you rate yourself on humility and confidence?

The good news is that skills are teachable and learnable.  Should you have a deficit in one or more areas, they can be improved upon and/or learned. Think of how incompetent you were in dental skills when you entered dental school.

For those who have had the privilege of raising children, how might you use the skills you developed during the process and transfer them to your leadership role in your practice?

Is it a coincidence that Elon Musk’s choice for CEO of Twitter, Linda Yaccarino happens to be a mother of 2?

Could experienced parents be better leaders?  They do say that “practice makes perfect.”

To Motherhood and Leadership,

Happy Mother’s Day,

Michael

P.S.  Want to know how you measure up as a leader?  Respond below and I’ll message you. Or submit your score to:  info@practiceperfectsystems.com.

P.P.S.  A note of gratitude to my wife who, more than me, was responsible for raising 2 amazing children and guiding them towards becoming amazing adults, spouses, and parents.