Balancing Parenthood and Career: A Professional Assessment of Working Parents Leadership Strategies

Question

Task: How can the leadership strategies in "Parents Who Lead" help Working Parents Leadership Strategies balance their career and family responsibilities?

Answer

Introduction

My professional evaluation Working Parents Leadership Strategies "Parents Who Lead: The Leadership Approach You Need to Parent with Purpose, Fuel Your Career, and Create a Richer Life" by Stewart D. Friedman and Alyssa F. Westring (Friedman & Westring, 2020). I am a management consultant who specialises in work-life balance and organisational effectiveness. In this evaluation, I will look at the internal and external environmental elements that affect parents' ability to balance their work and personal lives, analyse the current situation, and offer suggestions for people and organisations trying to deal with the difficulties of juggling parenting and a profession (Ionescu & Bolca?, 2019).

External Environmental Factors

Working Parents Leadership Strategies difficulties parents have in balancing job and family are substantially influenced by external environmental influences. The responsibility of caregiving is disproportionately placed on women due to societal expectations and gender stereotypes. Cultural traditions frequently mandate that women should take on the major carer role, which creates an imbalance between work and family duties. Women's possibilities for job progression are constrained by the gendered division of labour, and they also face enormous pressure to live up to social standards (Saha, Cerchione, Singh, & Dahiya, 2020).

The difficulties parents have between work and life are also exacerbated by the absence of accessible and inexpensive daycare choices. It can be challenging for parents to strike a balance between their job obligations and their caregiving responsibilities since high-quality daycare is scarce and expensive in many nations. The challenges that Working Parents Leadership Strategies , especially women, encounter are made worse by the lack of proper infrastructure and support services.

In order for parents to achieve work-life balance, organisational assistance is essential. However, many businesses still don't offer Working Parents Leadership Strategies enough help. The demands of both their jobs and their families can be difficult for parents to balance due to long working hours, inflexible schedules, and little flexibility. The work-life conflict that parents feel is further exacerbated by the absence of family-friendly policies and practises inside organisations.

The difficulties parents have achieving work-life balance are significantly influenced by the external environment. The challenges of balancing personal and professional life are exacerbated by societal norms, gender roles, a lack of inexpensive childcare options, and the demanding nature of contemporary work settings. To address these external barriers, society, organisations, and legislators must work together to create a more encouraging and welcoming atmosphere that enables parents to prosper both personally and professionally (Feng, Wang, Lawton, & Luo, 2019).

Internal Environmental Factors

Individuals' capacity to attain work-life balance is largely impacted by internal environmental forces within themselves. Parents make decisions about their professional and personal life based on their personal values, priorities, and ideas about work and family. Their sense of the trade-offs and concessions they must make between their employment and their family obligations is shaped by these internal forces.

Parental guilt is a significant internal barrier that frequently prevents successful work-life integration. Parents, particularly mothers, are expected by society to achieve in their careers and jobs as carers. When parents feel they are not living up to these demands in one way or another, it can cause guilt emotions. Work-life balance may be negatively impacted by an individual's internal struggle between the need to advance their profession and the need to be there for their families (Samimi, Cortes, Anderson, & Herrmann, 2022).

The internal environment for Working Parents Leadership Strategies is also influenced by organisational culture and policy. Work-life balance is made more difficult by organisations that lack helpful policies and practises, such as flexible work schedules, maternity leave, and on-site daycare. Parents may have trouble juggling their job and personal obligations if their employers do not prioritise work-life integration or do not offer the required tools and assistance. This may result in more stress, less job satisfaction, and difficulties moving up the professional ladder.

Individuals can engage in self-reflection to match their beliefs and objectives with their professional and familial ambitions in order to overcome these internal environmental variables. Parental guilt may be lessened and a healthy work-life balance can be encouraged by recognising and questioning cultural expectations and reshaping the way that people perceive trade-offs between work and family. Finding support systems and tools, such parenting forums or work-life balance programmes, may also be a great way to get advice and help (Alhadabi, Aldhafri, Alkharusi, Al-Harthy, Alrajhi, & AlBarashdi, 2019).

Fostering a welcoming culture that encourages work-life balance is crucial at the organisational level. Internal environments may be improved by implementing policies and procedures that cater to the requirements of Working Parents Leadership Strategies , such as flexible work schedules and parental leave. The stress on parents can also be lessened by offering childcare resources, such as on-site facilities or partnerships with daycare providers, which can also foster a supportive environment inside the organisation.

Parental work-life balance is highly impacted by internal environmental factors, such as personal beliefs, parental guilt, organisational culture, and policies. Individuals can more successfully negotiate the difficulties of juggling their employment and family duties by addressing these internal concerns. Organisations must play a part in fostering a culture that encourages work-life integration. Employers and the organisation as a whole will gain by recognising the value of work-life balance and putting supporting policies and practises in place (Tanjung, Harfiani, & Sampedro Hartanto, 2021).

Situational Analysis

The leadership philosophy promoted in "Parents Who Lead" offers a helpful foundation for resolving the difficulties parents have with work and family obligations. Parents may create a holistic view and make purposeful decisions that benefit themselves, their families, their jobs, and their communities by adopting a leadership attitude and embracing the idea of "four-way wins." However, taking into account the internal and external elements affecting work-life balance is necessary for the successful execution of this strategy (Carey, Block, & Scotch, 2019).

From a personal standpoint, parents must proactively define their values and objectives and match them to their professional goals and familial obligations. In order to create agreements that benefit both parties and take into account their demands for work and family, they need also engage in good communication and negotiation with their employers. Achieving a more fair work-life balance also requires accepting shared caregiving obligations and questioning established gender roles within the family (Pattison & Dierking, 2019).

Employers need to see the benefits of assisting Working Parents Leadership Strategies on an organisational level. To achieve this, policies and practises that support work-life integration must be put in place, including flexible work hours, remote work choices, and access to cost-effective, high-quality daycare. In order to promote an inclusive and empowered work environment, it is crucial to establish an organisational culture that values and respects work-life balance, provides parents with chances for coaching and mentoring, and addresses gender biases and caregiving stereotypes.

Recommendations

I advise the following actions for people and organisations to improve the work-life balance for parents in light of the scenario analysis:

Individuals

a. Examine your own values and priorities, balancing them with your aspirations for your job and your obligations to your family.

b. Communicate openly with employers to create flexible work schedules that accommodate both personal and professional demands.

c. Distribute caregiving duties among the family while questioning gender stereotypes.

d. Enlist the assistance of groups and networks of other Working Parents Leadership Strategies to exchange advice and experiences.

Organizations

a. Introduce family-friendly policies, such as flextime, parental leave, and on-site childcare facilities.

b. Encourage an organisational culture that emphasises work-life balance and offers Working Parents Leadership Strategies tools.

c. Provide mentorship and coaching programmes designed specifically for working people.

References:

Alhadabi, A., Aldhafri, S., Alkharusi, H., Al-Harthy, I., Alrajhi, M., & AlBarashdi, H. (2019). Modelling parenting styles, moral intelligence, academic self-efficacy and learning motivation among adolescents in grades 7–11. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 39(1), 133-153.

Carey, A. C., Block, P., & Scotch, R. K. (2019). Sometimes allies: Parent-led disability organizations and social movements. Disability Studies Quarterly, 39(1).

Feng, T., Wang, D., Lawton, A., & Luo, B. N. (2019). Customer orientation and firm performance: The joint moderating effects of ethical leadership and competitive intensity. Journal of Business Research, 100, 111-121.

Friedman, S. D., & Westring, A. F. (2020). Parents Who Lead: The Leadership Approach You Need to Parent with Purpose, Fuel Your Career, and Create a Richer Life. Harvard Business Review Press.

Ionescu, V. C., & Bolca?. (2019). Leadership and organizational development. Revista de Management Comparat International, 20(5), 557-564.

Pattison, S. A., & Dierking, L. D. (2019). Early childhood science interest development: Variation in interest patterns and parent–child interactions among low?income families. Science Education, 103(2), 362-388.

Saha, R., Cerchione, R., Singh, R., & Dahiya, R. (2020). Effect of ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility on firm performance: A systematic review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(2), 409-429.

Samimi, M., Cortes, A. F., Anderson, M. H., & Herrmann, P. (2022). What is strategic leadership? Developing a framework for future research. The Leadership Quarterly, 33(3).

Tanjung, E. F., Harfiani, R., & Sampedro Hartanto, H. (2021). Formation Of Soul Leadership Model In Indonesian Middle Schools. Educational Sciences: Theory And Practice, 21(1), 84-97. Working Parents Leadership Strategies