Episode 190: [Coaching] requires that you know yourself first; from that platform you can help others know themselves.

Mindset Mondays with DTK – Ep #190 — Leadership = Parenting = Coaching

You know those lines you use so often that as soon as you start saying it, your spouse, your partner, your dearest friends, even your family start to roll their eyes? Or they complete the sentence for you?

Here’s one of mine:
“The only difference between leadership and parenting is that one audience starts off shorter.”

That one comes up as often as it does because one of the most powerful tools for locking in learning is taking a concept from one arena and applying it in another.

One favorite example is a CEO who was lamenting how well her leadership team aligned around issues and how poorly he felt the same thing went at home with her kids.

When we uncovered that she put a great deal of effort into including her team in the process of co-creating plans (thereby getting the team’s buy-in), she instantly realized that her more dictatorial style at home was the reason for her parenting struggles.

I’d love to hear some of your examples… Please post yours in the comments below.

AND … it’s not just leadership and parenting that are so tightly related.

“[Coaching] requires that you know yourself first;
from that platform you can help others know themselves.”
— Judith E Glaser

Yes, Judith was talking about coaching. AND, the truth is that we can easily replace “Coaching” with “Leadership” or “Parenting” and her comments is just as accurate.

“Know thyself” was the first of the three maxims inscribed on the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. It is the beginning. It is the foundation. It is where our coaching and our parenting and our leadership all emerge. Without knowledge of self, our capacity in all three areas is limited.

We need only look to Socrates for clarity: “To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” Where else but from wisdom would we wish to be led? Or parented? (Or coached?)

How does your self-knowledge define your world?

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