LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Adrian Morgan
I
sn’t it amazing, how different
people are? Especially kids, who are
probably the only group that society
forces to stay together purely because of
their age, all through school.
At my kids’ school they have sorted
this out with ‘unique learning plans’,
purportedly tailored to the children’s
‘unique learning needs’. Both of my kids
seem to be born leaders, one possibly at
the UN, the other far more suited to a
so my parenting style could be basically
my grandfather’s style. I’m trying to
avoid mistakes that my parents made
whilst raising me, who were trying to
avoid the mistakes their parents made
whilst raising them, and so on. It’s the
inception of parenting!
It’s the same thing with leading a
team; it’s the inception method of past
leaders, CEOs and executives. You take
the good and the bad you know, and
BOTH OF MY KIDS SEEM TO BE BORN LEADERS,
ONE POSSIBLY AT THE UN, THE OTHER FAR
MORE SUITED TO A NON-UN MEMBER STATE
SUCH AS NORTH KOREA.
non-UN member state such as North
Korea. At times, you can appreciate
why it makes me wonder how to raise
them!
I think most of my time regarding
them is spent trying to take in all the
good and bad stuff I remember from
being parented as a child and making
sure I do the good, whilst avoiding the
bad.
Of course, sometimes I get it right, and
sometimes not. I’m guessing that my
parents tried to do something similar,
work with it; but work, like school, is
all about the individual.
So I’m going to sort out this question
regarding generational leadership once
and for all. When you are a leader, treat
people as individuals with needs that
are unique. Don’t create expectations
because of their age. It makes about as
much sense as categorising someone
because they have blonde hair, or
would like to be a dictator of a country
someday (stand up my child).
Absolutely none whatsoever.
GLOSS JULY 2015 59