How To Get Our Kids Hired, Not Fired By Sue Dickinson
I admit it! I have gotten caught up in the whole “Apprentice” frenzy that Donald Trump and his colleagues at NBC TV cooked up over the past few months. I admit that I have spent many Thursday nights glued to my television – caught up in the drama of Omarosa, Troy, Amy, Nick, Bill and Kwame. I figure it’s about time that “reality TV” take on some reality for a change. I mean, seriously, how many people actually meet their Prince Charming on Temptation Island or are forced to survive on bugs and coconut juice? Not many. And, okay, I know the show has it’s critics, but the comings and goings of corporate America, now that is something we all deal with every day - right here in our own families.
Okay, I agree that most of our “companies” (okay, our families) are definitely “not for profit,” but we do share one thing in common with the heads of many of the most successful corporations in the world. That is that we want our “employees” (okay, our kids) to improve, to excel, and to grow into the leaders of tomorrow (or at least employees of someone else, preferably making enough to support us in our old age…).
I can’t comment on the management tactics inspired by the “Apprentice,” but I was reading an article with excerpts from a speech made by Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo and Company, Dick Kovacevich, a leader I truly do admire. In it, he described four advanced degrees any good leader should possess in order to ensure that their employees will grow to become the leaders of tomorrow. The surprise twist? These “degrees” don’t come from a College or University. And the most surprising to me? They are qualities that we as moms need as much as any corporate leader in order to ensure that our children grow up to be the best individuals they can be.
1. First, we need a degree inbelieving.In other words, we should believe in our children – their talent, their energy, their drive and their potential. This seems mighty obvious, but it is sometimes hard to remember when an insolent teenager comes home with a bad report card, or a stubborn child insists that the only thing in school that’s important is recess and lunch. But the talent is there for the taking, and it is our job as the leader of our family to believe in it and to help it to grow.
2. The second degree we need is a degree inaffirming.Yes, we want to affirm the positive things our children do and say, but in addition we need to constantly affirmour beliefthat our kids want to excel. As Mr. Kovacevich reminds, this requires us to treat all members of our company (okay, of our family) with the same respect – as talented people and important members of the team – working together toward a common goal.
3. After achieving the first and second degree, we should strive for an advanced degree inmotivation.It is our job to find the tools it will take to drive our children to success. Does your daughter spend hours daydreaming? Consider a creative writing course or other outlet to help bring that bright imagination to the surface. Is your son addicted to watching Monday night football and basketball all weekend long? Maybe enrolling him in a sports program is just what he needs to gain the confidence and motivation to excel in other areas of his life.
4. Finally, hand in hand with motivation, we need to develop an advanced degree infun!That’s right, fun! Fun is the spice that gets people excited over the work that needs to get done. Why, asks Mr. Kovacevich, should work and fun be mutually exclusive? Why indeed? Okay, so it is a fact of life that there are chores to do and homework to complete. Yet no one said you had to wait for that to be over to have a little fun. If we can find small ways to make the mundane chores of our life a little more interesting, for us andour kids, we will go a long way to creating that motivation we want our children to feel.
So, maybe we aren’t Donald Trump and our kids are definitely not the Apprentice (which may, in the long run, be a good thing). We can contribute in a big way to making them ready and willing to be the leaders we’ll need tomorrow. If we start right now in our advanced degrees: Believing; Affirming, Motivation; and Fun, we can hope to pick up the phone someday and instead of hearing,“Mom, I’ve been fired…”, we can hear those words that are music to a mom’s ears:“Mom, I’ve been HIRED!”
