Do you know what kind of people can make great people managers? Parents. Having children teaches you a lot about managing people.

And I believe this rule works in reverse too. Good managers can be good parents. That idea motivated the approach I took when I was a people manager; I thought like a parent as I managed my team.

Hopefully, it has helped. Here's why:

  • Being a people manager means being able to juggle multiple tasks at the same time. Multi-tasking is a core part of the job, as is prioritization and scheduling. If your mind can't juggle, then you're going to drop lots of balls. Fortunately, you needn't track all of projects in your head simultaneously; that's why God created project management software.

    Being a parent means being able to juggle multiple tasks too, but without the benefit of project management software. You've got to feed the baby, make breakfast for the toddlers, pack a lunch for the teens, do the laundry, wash the dog, clean the bathroom, do the dishes, mow the lawn, etc etc. If that ain't multi-tasking, I don't know what is.

  • Being a people manager means being a skilled negotiator. You've got to negotiate with dozens individuals throughout the day to fulfill your objectives. This includes giving your team performance reviews (managing downwards), giving your boss status updates (managing upwards), and meeting with multi-disciplinary teams and departments (managing sideways).

    Being a parent means being a skilled negotiator too. Except your individuals range in age, maturity, gender, and, well, mostly maturity. This includes telling your kids to do their homework (managing downwards), talking to your parents and parents-in-law (managing upwards perhaps), and talking to your spouse about mortgages and bills (managing sideways).

  • Being a people manager means being an adept evaluator. Every day, you're evaluating your team. You gather feedback, assess their strengths & weaknesses, and help them reach their potential. In doing so, you judge whether some are ready for greater responsibilities and whether others need extra assistance.

    Being a parent means being an adept evaluator too. You watch your kids grow and do your best to steer them onto the right path. From parent-teacher conferences to helping with homework to at-home disciplinary action (spanking, time-outs, etc); all of these are part of your daily repertoire in helping your children blossom into (hopefully) well-adjusted & mature adults.

  • Being a people manager means being able to compromise. You want one thing, your employee wants another thing, and your boss wants a third. It's up to you to reach an effective solution for everyone—which usually means a compromise. A win-win-win, so to speak. If you can't do this well, you'll have a lose-lose-lose on your hands. And then you'll lose lose lose your job.

    Being a parent means being able to compromise too. Your spouse wants to raise your children one way, you want to raise them another way. Or your spouse wants to handle the finances one way, and you want to handle them another way. This means you both have to work together to reach an effective compromise, which should be satisfactory to both parties. If one person is happy and the other isn't, then it wasn't an effective compromise and someone's going to be sleeping on the couch tonight.

  • Being a people manager means being a good doer. If everyone sits around and talks about doing something, but never actually does it, then you should write a big fat WTF on your forehead. A good manager is action-oriented, meaning he/she will take action and perform all the hard work necessary to complete the task at hand.

    Being a parent means being a good doer too. Your kids set fire to the living room rug again? Discipline them right there and then. Breakfast need to be made? Make it. Hedges need to be trimmed? Trim them. In other words, get off your lazy ass and just do it.