We work so hard to build our management and leadership skills in our careers, but we often feel like blithering idiots when faced with a child who won't cooperate, a husband who doesn't pay attention and a household that seems ready to collapse from the weight of our anxiety about chores. “Why can't I be as smart at home as I am at work?” I have often found myself wondering.These words—written by Carol Evans and excerpted from the Foreword of Mom-in-Chief—sum up why leadership expert Jamie Woolf wrote this book. They reflect the sentiments of countless professional women who feel great about our accomplishments in the workplace but not so great about how we run our homes.In this one-of-a-kind book, Woolf sets out to help readers bridge the gap between corner office and kitchen counter. Along the way she shares inspiring stories, practical strategies and interactive assessment tools to illustrate how the best workplace practices can bring more joy and success to family life.Drawing from two decades of experience, she lays out her "best practices" to improve your communication, create a healthy family culture, discover your parent leadership style, manage crises, thrive during adolescence, and juggle work and family priorities. Readers will explore common leadership dilemmas, including:When to step in and when to step backHow to maximize the learning opportunities that come from mistakesHow to stay connected with a pesky toddler or testy teenagerHow to create rituals that strengthen the family's esprit de corpsWhen to push kids and when to let them quitHow to feel less like a maid or short-order cook and more like a skilled leader capable of unleashing the potential of others.Mom-in-Chief addresses real quandaries and covers everything that smart career-oriented women need to know in order to fulfill their parenting potential and navigate challenges with skill and grace.This book is a welcome reminder that leading a family doesn't mean churning out living masterpieces, or indulging children with the perfect everything. It does mean inspiring without pushing your own agenda, nurturing without micromanaging, encouraging without aiming to win a best-of-show competition, and expecting the best without ignoring the joyful ordinariness of childhood.
Author(s): Jamie Woolf
Edition: 1
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 288
Mom-in-Chief: How Wisdom from the Workplace Can Save Your Family from Chaos......Page 5
Contents......Page 9
Foreword......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 15
Introduction......Page 21
THE WAR ON THE HOME FRONT......Page 22
AN “AHA” MOMENT......Page 23
TRANSFERRING SKILLS FROM WORK TO HOME......Page 24
THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN BUSINESSES AND FAMILIES......Page 26
WHAT IS EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP?......Page 27
THE CRISIS IN FAMILY LEADERSHIP......Page 28
LEADERSHIP SKILLS YOU CAN BRING HOME FROM WORK......Page 29
HOW THIS BOOK WORKS......Page 33
WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?......Page 34
Leadership Strategy 1: Setting Big-Picture Goals......Page 37
SETTING CLEAR GOALS AT HOME......Page 39
REFOCUSING ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS......Page 40
BIG-PICTURE DISCIPLINE......Page 41
PROMOTING GROWTH......Page 46
STICKING WITH YOUR GOALS......Page 49
DEFINING CONCRETE GOALS......Page 52
OBSTACLES TO BIG-PICTURE PLANNING......Page 58
EIGHT REASONS WHY YOU DON’T DELEGATE......Page 59
DELEGATION QUIZ......Page 61
DEVELOPING FAMILY CORE VALUES......Page 62
CREATING A PARENTING MISSION STATEMENT......Page 63
BEING THE MOM YOU ARE......Page 67
MOM MODE ASSESSEMENT......Page 69
ACQUIRING MOM MODES FROM OUR PARENTS......Page 75
BEST MOM MOMENTS......Page 77
MOM MODE QUIZ......Page 78
MOM MODES AND THE FIVE LEADERSHIP SKILLS......Page 79
MOM MODES RUN AMOK......Page 80
ADJUSTING YOUR MOM MODES......Page 84
DAD’S MOM MODES......Page 87
Leadership Strategy 3: Managing Conflict......Page 95
PREVENTING CONFLICT IN THE FIRST PLACE......Page 97
FOUR BUILDING BLOCKS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION......Page 98
CONFLICT RESOLUTION STEP-BY-STEP......Page 110
RESOLVING POWER STRUGGLES WITH CHILDREN......Page 112
TEACHING CONFLICT RESOLUTION TO OLDER CHILDREN......Page 116
CONFLICTS WITH PARTNERS......Page 121
QUESTIONS FOR CO-PARENTS TO CONSIDER......Page 122
CO-PARENTING NOT-TO-DO LIST......Page 125
Leadership Strategy 4: Creating a Family Culture......Page 131
TAKING A CULTURAL TOUR......Page 132
HEALTHY CULTURE......Page 133
CULTURAL ASSESSMENT......Page 135
BOLD ACTIONS STRENGTHEN CULTURE......Page 137
THE VALUE OF CELEBRATIONS......Page 139
UNHEALTHY CULTURE......Page 140
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE......Page 145
Leadership Strategy 5: Leading Through Crisis......Page 161
CHARACTERISTICS OF HARDY PEOPLE......Page 162
FOSTERING YOUR OWN RESILIENCE......Page 166
FOSTERING RESILIENCE IN OTHERS......Page 167
ARE YOU AN OPTIMIST OR A PESSIMIST?......Page 170
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE......Page 172
LEADING CHILDREN THROUGH ILLNESS AND DEATH......Page 177
BUILD YOUR SUPPORT TEAM......Page 178
DISCOVER YOUR HIGHER PURPOSE......Page 182
DIVORCE......Page 184
Leadership Strategy 6: Managing the Growing Pains of Adolescence......Page 193
THREE KINDS OF FAMILIES WITH ADOLESCENTS......Page 194
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP......Page 195
EXPECT THE BEST TO BRING OUT THE BEST......Page 197
WHEN TEENS MESS UP......Page 201
PROVIDE GUIDANCE WITHOUT MICROMANAGING......Page 207
TALKING ABOUT SEX......Page 211
TALKING TO YOUR TEENAGER ABOUT SEX......Page 212
WHEN TO EASE CONTROL AND WHEN TO INTERVENE......Page 213
STRENGTHEN CONNECTIONS IN FAMILIES WITH TEENS......Page 216
FIND YOUR OWN SUPPORT AND CONNECTION......Page 218
KEEP YOUR EARS AND EYES OPEN......Page 220
HELP KIDS RESIST UNDESIRABLE SOCIAL INFLUENCES......Page 221
ARE YOU IN THE FLOW?......Page 225
Leadership Strategy 7: Balancing Priorities......Page 229
KNOW YOUR LIMITS......Page 231
TIME MANAGEMENT TOOLS......Page 233
PUT YOUR TIME WHERE YOUR HEART IS......Page 239
SHIFTING TO KID TIME......Page 241
FINDING THE RIGHT JOB......Page 242
INDULGE YOURSELF......Page 245
BALANCING TOGETHER......Page 250
DESPERATELY SEEKING FLEXIBILITY......Page 255
WORKING IS GOOD FOR YOUR CHILDREN......Page 259
Conclusion......Page 263
References
......Page 267
Recommended Reading
......Page 271
About the Author
......Page 275
Index
......Page 277
