As a business dad I’m constantly thinking about how I can balance my work and coaching responsibilities with my family obligations.
I am a husband and a father of two children (a 6-year-old and a 20-month-old). I am fortunate to be a dad and have my own business, but a daily choice must be made between the two. So, where do I place my time and energy?
Many business dads are confronted with this same problem. I have interviewed over 50 plus dads in business, and this is an issue all of them relate to. Here are four ways that might help you with your time and energy management:
Being a business dad, I am guilty of putting a lot of pressure on myself about the time and energy I spend with my two children. I often feel that the time must be extraordinary – trips out and doing something new. But most children just want your time and engagement.
What’s important is the numerous little interactions that help develop your relationship. Visits to the shops, a neighbourhood walk, and the morning walk or drive to school are frequently some of our children’s most memorable moments. The COVID 19 pandemic has enabled more dads to take their children to school.
It’s important to build in ways to monitor and reduce stress such as breathwork, check out my simple breathwork sessions to start the day here.
I meet so many passionate business founders and leaders. Make sure that you have your vision, values and purpose (VVP) in place. In The Ambitious Dads Pathway, we spend time on these three areas as they drive us and help us understand what is truly important.
A number of the business dads I spoke with emphasised the need for appropriate urgency in their businesses, as there is always something to be done.
Leadership can be all-consuming. If you are in a top position, you have earned the right to be held ultimately responsible, and you cannot take a break from it. However, all of the dads I spoke with stressed the importance of establishing boundaries and felt that a lack of boundaries was a real problem.
We have to be comfortable with the power of saying no. As a coach, I love to help people; it’s my passion and flow state (What are flow states, read here). However, if we say yes to one thing, we say no to something else. So if I agree to help someone, it means that time and energy might be taken away from my VVP.
Several interviewees stressed the importance of consistency in their home and work lives.
At work, it implies achieving their stated business objectives and targets and achieving their KPIs (key performance indicators). Performance metrics are unusual in most families, but you can make your own rules to better parent your children and co-parent with your spouse.
It might simply be stating how many family dinners you’ll have each week or how many school drop-offs you’ll make. Because it aided me in determining how and where I wanted to spend my time, I became very particular about these things in my daily life.
Several business dads I spoke to informed me that they were too busy with work to see their children and felt the need to work to create a better life for them later.
Others declared they missed their kid’s birthdays, parties, fixtures and other events due to their schedule demands.
When I look closely at all the leaders and founders I spoke to, the main takeaway is clear: Dads must be proactive in managing their life balance and follow through on their decisions. As a result, they will be more fulfilled as a parent and as a business dad.
Are you an ambitious dad?
Are you a business founder?
Do you want to drive your business forward and be the best dad that you can be?
The Dad’s Pathway will be for you.
