Parents Who Lead: A Conversation with Author Alyssa Westring

  What does it mean to be a parent who leads? And can leadership skills really make a difference as a parent? Absolutely, according to this week’s guest.   Listen as Dr. Alyssa F. Westring, Associate Professor of Management at the Driehaus College of Business, DePaul University, and Director of Research for Total Leadership, shares insights into the many ways leadership skills benefit parents at work and at home. Westring highlights what it means to be a parent who leads and how parents and families can use leadership skills to home in on their values and create a “collective family vision.” She encourages us to ask ourselves where we want to be in 5 to 10 years and to consider that vision as we make choices as parents and as a family.   Co-author of Parents Who Lead: The Leadership Approach You Need to Parent with Purpose, Fuel Your Career, and Create a Richer Life, Westring discusses the “Four-Way Wins” method to help overwhelmed parents refocus their attention, so that their lives are in closer alignment with their priorities. This method encompasses integrating career (not necessarily current paid work, but what you are trained to do), family, community, and self, including body, mind, and spirit. She advises us to ask ourselves how these domains of life interact, how much energy and time we are dedicating to each domain, how happy we are in each domain, and how important each domain is to us. This allows us to use the “Four-Way View” to evaluate our lives and then make changes to create win-win-win-wins -- where we do not have to sacrifice one domain to achieve happiness or success in another. Tune in to learn more from this inspiring and thought-provoking episode!   IN WHAT WAYS ARE YOU A LEADER AS A PARENT? What core values drive your life as an individual and in your family? What do you want the next 10-15 years to look like? What two or three things will be important for you to include in your vision for your family? Are there choices you are making now that no longer fit with that vision? What steps can you take to live in greater alignment with your vision?   WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PARENTS WHO LEAD AND THIS WEEK'S AUTHOR? ❉ WORKING MOMS: FRESH PERSPECTIVES FROM GROWN CHILDREN OF WORKING MOTHERS. Although a majority of moms are employed during their childrearing years, many working moms still experience a nagging concern that their children some day will look back on their childhood and feel short-changed. Listen as business leader and mother Pam Lenehan shines light on the overwhelmingly positive views of adult children reflecting on their moms’ work and the impact it had on their development.   ❉ THE SECRET LIFE OF A WORK-LIFE INSIDER. Watch Alyssa Westring's TEDx Talk below.    ❉ PARENTS WHO LEAD: THE LEADERSHIP APPROACH YOU NEED TO PARENT WITH PURPOSE, FUEL YOUR CAREER, AND CREATE A RICHER LIFE. Purchase the book to learn more about using leadership skills to create...