How Parenting Styles Affect your Leadership and Management

You’ll discover that parenting practices reflect shifting trends by speaking with people from all eras. Whether an authoritarian, authoritative, uninvolved, or permissive method is in vogue these days, most parents will adjust their parenting style to fit it. Few people consider how these parenting strategies may later affect workplace leadership. Your reaction to authority and chosen leadership style are influenced by how you were raised as a child. Since there are presently four generations working in the same organization, leadership styles have changed over the generations just as parenting techniques have.

The Baby Boomers, GenX, and Millennial generations presently make up around one-third of the workforce, while the Silent Generation (born between 1925 and 1945) and Generation Z (born after 1995) make up only a minor portion of the workforce. However, the other groups have continuously outnumbered GenX. So how did their upbringing affect how they became leaders?

Baby Boomers

Baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 grew up in solid, authoritarian households. When a parent or leader exercises authority (an authoritarian style), they utilize punishment and threats to compel submission. Initiative, originality, individual involvement, and open communication are all eliminated by this method. Additionally, it creates constricting thoughts rather than enabling ones. Because of this, it has a detrimental influence on one’s sense of self-worth, independence, and productivity. Typically, a male is designated as the family’s head. In this traditional family, the father serves as the head and makes all the essential choices without much input from the other members. The workplace adopted this structure, which was a hierarchical pyramid of superiors and subordinates. Orders were sent from the top to the lower levels of the pyramid; you could be both a boss to those “below” you in the hierarchy and a subordinate to those “above” you. A system like this is not conducive to open discussion.

Gen X — Uninvolved or Authoritative

GenX (1965–1980), the smaller generation that served as a bridge between Baby Boomers and Millennials, was partly to blame for the positive transition in leadership approaches. When a parent or a leader uses an authoritative system (operating from a position of empathy), they continually concentrate on the needs of the other person and make an effort to be as nurturing as possible. This strategy promotes self-assurance and the attainment of one’s most significant potential. Better self-esteem, self-expression, drive, and improved interpersonal relationships are the results for both kids and adults. The GenX generation’s upbringing was carefree, with youngsters free from the rules and regulations that constrained earlier generations and permitted them to explore the countryside without the safety constraints of the following decades. Gen X, however, carried with them the success-driven culture of working hard and aiming for ample compensation when they entered the job in the 1980s and 1990s. They created a more collaborative work atmosphere through a challenging upbringing and the will to achieve. Although there was still a clear separation between senior and junior jobs, communication between them was more accessible.

Millennials — Permissive & Helicopter Parents

The first generation to grow up with social media is the millennials. They prefer a wealth of experience over material possessions and have a solid visual and individual sense of brand consciousness. This may be partially ascribed to Baby Boomers’ “helicopter parenting” approach, in which they enrolled their kids in various activities and closely tracked their whereabouts through enhanced communication. The Internet had transformed communication by the time the Millennials (those born between 1980 and 1995) entered the workforce, providing this new generation an unheard-of sense of independence over time and location. When you can join the conference call from home, why spend 9 to 5 hours at the office? The pyramid hierarchy has replaced a flat management structure since millennials also demand to have their views heard. This makes it simpler to enable communication and decision-making.

The Changing Meaning of Respect

It is evident that childhood experiences have molded each generation’s leaders and influenced the workplace, even though technological and communication advances have sparked changes in the workplace. Different conceptions of respect across generations are the leading cause of conflict. Baby Boomers defer to a parent or an employer as a sign of respect for authority. A Baby Boomer’s connection with a father was founded on reverence and dread for them to react similarly to their older coworkers, who serve as the workplace’s father figures. However, Millennials were not taught to respect or have a healthy amount of dread for their dads. They take this mindset into the job and see respect as a standard attribute based on dialog rather than one-way communication. Baby Boomers and Millennials are at odds with one another as a consequence, and both generations feel disrespected.

The approach is to provide work teams with awareness of the generational context so they may openly acknowledge the various interpretations and gestures of respect. This is the first step toward reversing the generational dynamic and fostering an atmosphere where everyone is appreciated, respected, and supported.

Leading And Parenting Are Not That Distant Complements

Show each of them what a great leader is by being devoted to their advancement. Holding their hands just when they need them while they learn to walk and then being happy with how far they finally go on their own are traits of a good parent, which a good mentor exemplifies. Never be hesitant to give them a call to express your pride in their wise choices or to express your worry over performance that falls short of the bar you once set together. Make them aware of your concern for them if you want to leave a leadership legacy that endures a lifetime. This will ensure that your influence is never forgotten.