5 Warning Signs of Parent-Child Leadership
Leadership is a very important factor in the success of any business. In today’s competitive world, a leader can make or break an organization.
However, leaders are not born with all the traits of leadership. Rather, they must cultivate these traits through experiences, training, and proper management.
Just like there are many personalities and traits, there are many types of leadership. Not all types of leadership are right for every situation.
Some may be better for short-term situations and others for long-term situations.
This article will explain to you the parent-child leadership model and how it can badly affect the development of a business.
What is Parent-Child Leadership?
Parent-child leadership happens when a leader doesn’t allow their subordinates to develop and progress to the level of their capability.
Instead, the leader expects their team members to only follow and act as they direct.
In a healthy environment, subordinates will be allowed to make mistakes, ask questions and work on things independently. Leaders are there to support their team members and help them grow and learn.
However, in a parent-child leadership model, the leader has complete control over their subordinates. They give orders and feedback and don’t allow their team members to have input in the decisions.
Why is Parent-Child Leadership Bad for Business?
Parent-child leadership can result in a lack of innovation and growth for subordinates as they don’t feel confident enough to take initiative. They are afraid of failing and being told off by their leaders.
They also don’t feel safe taking risks, since the leader has control over their destiny and could reprimand them for failure.
This leads to a dysfunctional workplace where team members don’t have ownership over their own decisions and work processes.
It also leads to a lack of motivation as the team members do not believe that they can succeed without their leader’s support and encouragement.
On the other hand, there is also a lack of trust between subordinates and leaders as the latter doesn’t allow the former to grow and learn on their own.
They often expect complete compliance from their team members and try to micromanage them at every step of work, which can make them lose motivation too.
5 Signs of Parent-Child Leadership
1. They Don’t Allow Others to Question Their Decisions
In a parent-child leadership relationship, the leader is often quick to point out the mistakes of others and aggressively defends their own decisions.
Questioning the boss’s decision is seen as an act of rebellion and may lead to the employee being demoted or fired.
2. Feedbacks Only Come from The Boss
Leaders often give negative feedback to their employees without first soliciting the opinion of their subordinates.
They may believe that they are being supportive by giving feedbacks directly to their team members. However, this isn’t entirely true.
Only allowing the leader to give feedback to others inhibits the development of strong leadership skills in the subordinates.
3. The Employees Is Never Given Responsibility
One of the signs of parent-child leadership is that the subordinate is never given a proper responsibility.
To grow and develop, an employee need a chance to lead and make decisions based on their experiences and the knowledge that they have.
If an employee is never given a proper role, they will not be able to grow as a leader and as a team member.
4. Only the Boss Knows All the Important Information
Another sign of parent-child leadership is that the leader has the full information of all situations and is often seen as an expert on all situations.
They refuse to share important factors that lead to decision-making with their team members. Instead, they decide on their own and don’t consult nor ask for their subordinates’ opinion.
This lack of trust between leaders and their subordinates is an important warning sign of parent-child leadership.
By not sharing information, the leader coddles their subordinates and keeps them in the dark about many important decisions.
5. It’s Always About Them
Finally, parent-child leadership relationships are all about the leader and never about the subordinates. The subordinates are seen as inferior to the leader and are expected to cater to the leader’s needs first and foremost.
Also, on many occasions, the subordinates are seen as ‘extras’ and aren’t considered to be important.
What Kind of Leadership is Better for a Business Development?
The parent-child leadership model can have many negative impacts on the work environment.
For a healthy business, the leader and subordinates must share power equally and allow the subordinates to develop on their own. This will lead to a more dynamic workplace with a higher sense of belonging for team members.
The development of leaders can be hampered by such unhealthy relationships as parent-child leadership.
However, by sharing equal power, leaders can encourage their subordinates to become more confident and develop their leadership skills through experiences and trials.
This will result in better teamwork and more motivation for everyone.
About the Author
I hope that my post has helped you know more about Leadership and Business Management. Feel free to leave a comment and tag me and I will answer them. Follow my profile to get the latest content I post to stay ahead of the curve.
I am the Founder of Cudy Technologies, a full-stack EdTech startup helping teachers and students learn better. I am also a mentor and angel investor in other Startups of my other interests (Proptech, Fintech, HRtech, Ride-hailing, C2C marketplaces, and SaaS). You can also find me on Cudy for early-stage Startup Founder mentorship and advice.
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