Lessons from Mom

This weekend I reminisced on the lessons my mother taught me and how they relate to business today.

My mom was my first teacher, nurse, consultant and coach. I still marvel at how calm she was in the midst of scraped knees and bicycle accidents. As a leader, I have mastered being calm in the midst of a storm, but her patience is a trait that I'm still working on.

I realized that she kept calm by envisioning things as she wanted them to be, while she worked simultaneously to turn her dreams into reality. In business, a leader must possess a vision for the future and involve key staff and board members in making it a reality.

My mother also had a knack of making every child and adult feel special and feel seen and heard. This is a skill that I foster as a leader building a culture of belonging.

Leaders should be approachable, compassionate, consistent and fair-minded. I could always go to my mother for advice and when I needed a shoulder to cry on. She was also my personal advocate. If anyone made me feel inadequate, my mother was the first to run to my defense and to my side to assure me that I could do anything that I wanted to do.

My mom was also my first financial advisor. She would have me to read the bank and insurance documents and explain what the clauses meant. I went to the bank with her as she opened Christmas accounts or certificates of deposits. She was a great saver and taught me to pay myself first, by putting a little money to the side in an envelope every time I received birthday and Christmas money. Once I accumulated a good amount, she would take me to the bank to deposit it into my account.

Today, I follow the same rules regarding my personal finances and professionally with the finances of my organization. I make sure that we are operating within our budget and saving funds for future growth and emergencies.

Think about the lessons that you've learned from your youth and how you can apply those in your business.