Elementary Leadership

Elementary Leadership

     All the recent news regarding the financial markets makes us think about our kids’ future, as well as our own. We recently attended a parents’ night at our kids’ school - actually, we went three times!

       Perhaps the most interesting part of the parents’ nights was a speech on developing children to reach their full potential. The lessons we heard apply to all of our organizations, pursuits, and even the financial markets.

      The presentation was artfully targeted to urge appropriate parenting leadership, which also seems to apply to leadership in general. The principles included a balance nurture, structure, and latitude. Providing all three principles becomes a difficult commitment in the face of challenges in our fast paced world but are essential for success.

       Nurture includes the desire of all people to be wanted and loved. Nurture is essential to give individuals a sense of belonging. Nurture is developed by showing love and respect, both directly and by example. This is an essential aspect in creating healthy people, organizations, and satisfying lives.

        Structure is the framework and expectations people have for their pursuits, responsibilities and ventures. Structure includes rules and guidelines that are required to be followed. It also includes process management protocols, as well as behavioral standards. Over time, structure becomes the values and culture of our organizations, and is reflected in all we do.

       Latitude is the freedom within the structure to use judgement to experiment and learn. Given this latitude people and organizations will have failures and setbacks. These are the areas for more growth and learning. If there are appropriate nurture and structure then the learning and growth are appreciated, accepted and raise performance to higher levels.

       Authoritative leadership within these three levels provides the best opportunities for future successes. Virtually every neurodevelopmental and psychological study supports these elements as building blocks for success.

       Balance between nurture, structure, and latitude is important. With the latest investment bank debacles it appears that the balance between structure and latitude were out of wack. We can imagine how nurture was probably out of balance too. Perhaps a few lessons in elementary leadership would benefit our political and financial leaders.

10 tips for Teenage Drivers

10 tips for Teenage Drivers

      Teenagers are known for making their parents nervous when they are behind the wheel. But for most parents, teenage drivers are a reality or a necessity.

       The AAA emphasizes a list of ten things that parents can do to keep their teens safe:

            1. Encourage teens to get enough sleep -- Teens need about nine hours of sleep every night and a lack of sleep can negatively affect vision, hand-eye coordination, reaction time and judgment.

            2. Eliminate distractions -- Cell phones, and especially text messaging, are hazardous distractions for teens and parents should insist that phones be put away. Look your kid in the eye and have him or her promise not to text and drive.

           3. Pick a practical car -- A teen should drive the safest vehicle a family owns. Things to consider are vehicle type; size (larger vehicles fare better in crashes); and safety technology (think front and side air bags, anti-lock brakes and stability control systems).

          4. Know and understand your teen -- Determine when your teen is responsible enough to get behind the wheel.

         5. No driving with friends or at night -- Research indicates that a teen driver's chances of crashing increase with each additional teen passenger. Teen crashes spike between 9 p.m. and midnight.

         6. Create a parent-teen driving agreement ---- Parents should establish rules and consequences that they and their teens agree on that extend beyond state laws.

        7. Set a time each week for discussion and review -- Designate a time to address concerns, review the teen's driving performance and chart the progression towards established goals and benchmarks. (Blogger's note: this may be impossible with hectic family schedules. Even a quick "how's the car working for you?" in passing could open the door for conversation.)

       8. Use a driving school -- Driving is a risky activity for teens and warrants professional instruction. Schools that feature cutting-edge curriculums, high degrees of interaction and professionally trained instructors are suggested.

       9. Practice, practice and practice some more -- As a supplement to formal driver education, driving sessions with parents provide teens with chances to reinforce proper driving skills.

     10. Be a responsible role model -- Teenagers learn from their parents' behavior and mom or dad's actions behind the wheel influence teenage driving behavior.

          Please join our Daggett Shuler team and Safe Sober Prom Night in helping to keep our teens safe!