Leadership and Father’s Day
The readers of this newsletter know that my favorite phrase – and the motto of my family that I have passed on to my two sons – is that “It’s all about relationships.” On this Father’s Day, I am reminded that both fatherhood and leadership are about building strong relationships with similar goals—passing along to someone else the skills and attitudes they need to navigate the path before them, then trusting them enough to let them go.
The job of father is both challenging and rewarding, frustrating and satisfying, enervating and energizing. In these respects, fatherhood and leadership are very similar. So much of what we derive from father and leader roles is based on our own attitudes towards those roles – do we fear the responsibilities that accompany these two roles or do we embrace the opportunity to pass along wisdom and tips to our children or our work colleagues?
In appreciation of this Father’s Day, here are a series of quotes that tie together fatherhood and leadership:
1.Anyone who tells you fatherhood is the greatest thing that can happen to you, they are understating it.” ―Mike Myers
2.“My father used to say that it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said, ‘You never know what you can accomplish until you try.’” —Michael Jordan
3.“I’ve said it before, but it’s absolutely true: My mother gave me my drive, but my father gave me my dreams. Thanks to him, I could see a future.” —Liza Minnelli
4.“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” —Sigmund Freud
5.“When you’re young, you think your dad is Superman. Then you grow up, and you realize he’s just a regular guy who wears a cape.” – Unknown
6.“You don’t raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they’ll turn out to be heroes, even if it’s just in your own eyes.” ―Walter M. Schirra, Sr
7.“I smile because you’re my father. I laugh because there’s nothing you can do about it.” – Unknown
8.“A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again.” ―Enid Bagnold
9.“Of all the titles I’ve been privileged to have, ‘Dad’ has always been the best.” ―Ken Norton
10.“A little girl giggles when she is denied an ice-cream by her mother. She knows daddy will get her some later.” – Unknown
11.“Every father should remember one day his son will follow his example, not his advice.” ―Charles Kettering
12.“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” ―Jim Valvano
13.“Behind every great daughter is a truly amazing dad.” – Unknown
14.“Dear Daddy, no matter where I go in life, you’ll always be my number one man.” – Unknown
15.“There is this girl who stole my heart and she calls me Daddy.” – Unknown
16.“A father hold his daughter’s hand for a short while, but he holds her heart forever.” – Unknown
17.“My father didn’t tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it.” ―Clarence Budington Kelland
18.“It’s only when you grow up and step back from him—or leave him for your own home—it’s only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it.” ―Margaret Truman
19.“Daddy, thanks for being my hero, chauffeur, financial support, listener, life mentor, friend, guardian, and simply being there every time I need a hug.” – Agatha Stephanie Lin
20.“The quality of a father can be seen in the goals, dreams and aspirations he sets not only for himself, but for his family.” ―Reed Markham
21.“He adopted a role called being a father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a protector.” ―Tom Wolfe
22.“A good father will leave his imprint on his daughter for the rest of her life.” – Dr. James Dobson
23.“Fathers, be your daughter’s first love and she’ll never settle for anything less.” – Unknown
24.“A daughter needs a dad to be the standard against which she will judge all men.” – Unknown
25.“When my daughter says ‘Daddy I need you!’ I wonder if she has any idea that I need her billion times more.” – Stanley Behrman
Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there. For those of you who may not be fathers, please remember that you can play a fatherly leadership role every day at work, and that such a role – influencing our colleagues in a positive manner, teaching them, mentoring them, and role modeling for them – is a blessing every day of the year.
If you believe this content would resonate with a friend or colleague, please feel free to forward it along!
-Larry