A few weeks ago, I attended a refresher program on Basic
Management Function. This program is offered to management level who handles
people in their department/section/unit. It taught more on leading and managing
and how one differs from the other and how we, as managers, should attain to
become both.
I won’t go over the work-related stuff here but on how
our speaker related the topic to parenting because managing a household with children
is pretty much managing people in the workplace. Interesting right? Let’s
start because this is one looong read but I hope you get to read 'til the end.
First off, I wil l
share all about PLOC, management/leadership funtions where:
P - Planning
L – Leading
O – Organizing
C – Controlling
Those who are already parents wil l
most likely get this one at first glance but here are a few insights on these
functions:
Planning is important in a household. In our household,
major vacations especially with kids are planned at least a year in advance. We
make sure that everything is well thought of: location should be kid-friendly
and safe, budget is computed / allocated properly to include meal per
day/person, lodging, gas, entrance fees to sites, incidental costs, etc. When
going on a major trip for 3-5 days with kids, make sure logistics are all
considered.
Another thing that I feel is important to share is to plan your
goals and budget every year. Set your goals and identify which are short term,
mid-term and long term. A short term goal may be a trip to a local amusement
park like Zoobic Safari; something that can be achieved in a 6 months to two years
and costs a fair amount of budget. Fair amount depends on each family
considering your household income and expenditure.
A mid-term goal would be like buying a car or an asian trip,
something achievable in 3-5 years time. Meaning if you plan and save for it,
can you achieve it in 3-5 years time? Achieve it and not go bankrupt, that is,
so planning is important. If a new car isn’t achievable as mid-term goal then
move it to long-term goal. A long-term would be something major like owning a business,
a house and lot, a Europe trip or children’s
college education. Super major and cost a lot of money and time. Before we bought the house, we made a 5-year budget plan considering that by 2009 we will have baby number two and that by 2011 Sophie will be going to school. We looked at how our finances would look considering those factors (and others that may arise) before we made the decision to quit renting and get our own home. In making a major decision, it is also very helpful to know the nice-to-haves and the need-to-haves so you know where to set your priority.
As parents set, we need to set our goals early in our family life and that we revisit every six months or every year to know
where we are in terms of achieving them.
Now comes Leading. First, it is important to identify the
difference between a leader and a manager. According to our speaker:
Leader: Manager:
Formulate strategies Implements
strategies
Provides directions Administer
projects/plans
Innovate/Visionary Day
to day / short run
Focus on people focus
on systems/structure
While a leader is more focused on visions, plans,
strategies, managers are more of the day-to-day implementer of goals. A manager makes sure that employees are guided well to achieve the vision of the leader. While
leaders are focused on macro-management, nd managers are micro-managers. But don’t
you think that parents (as well as managers) should be both a leader and
manager; someone who thinks on a big scale and someone who can also focus on the
everyday necessities of the family? I think so too. Not easy but that’s how we can become
effective at what we do.
Organizing. This is pretty obvious, right? What happens when
parents are not organized at home? Chaos, right? Chaos on how you manage the
kids, how money/budget is handled, how to handle household. For any group to be considered an organization, it should have a system in place - a set of rules and policies that becomes the guiding principle of the members. A family should have a system as well. Here’s one tip that I
learned from my mom and share to friends who ask me how we manage our finances:
our system of managing the budget is that there is only one parent who handles and budgets the
money. At the start of our marriage, hubby and I decided that I handle the
finances since I'm better at that. We also agreed on how much to spend for school fees,
household expenses and even the occasional expenses like parties, travels,
charities/donations, Christmas gifts. It’s all budgeted. So every payday, he gives me most of his salary (I let him leave a budget for his comics for his sanity sake:) ) and we
set aside money for the house, bills, school, etc. Because I handle the budget,
I know where we are overspending and discuss with husband how we can get back
on track. If a rule or system needs to be created to manage like say electrical or
water bills, so be it. A system becomes futile if not everyone comply so it is
also important that every family member knows and understands why such a rule
was made and why they have to follow. Do I make it seem like at the helm of our household? Not really. The truth is that all plans and decisions are made by husband and I and working
Controlling. According to the speaker, as a manager we
cannot and should not control people but only performances, deliverables,
budget, workload. This is so right. What happens if you try to control your
child, either they become rebelious or lose confidence. What happens when you
try to control you household help? They feign a family emergency and leave for
good!
A set of rules/system is important in the family as well as in the
workplace but each needs to be applied differently based on the kind of
environment that we have. With the kids, it should always be positive
reinforcement and rules should be well understood on why they are being
enforced. Example: to pack away toys after playing, we need to explain
why this has to be done and what happens if they don’t follow (someone could
get hurt with the clutter or they could lose their precious toys). As with our household
help, I have a way of monitoring their performance. Every 6 months, we have a
Perfomance Appraisal at work so that’s also a reminder for me that, at home, I should
go and talk one-on-one with the household helps too. It usually starts with
something positive like how they have adapted well to the routine of the house,
how the kids adore them, etc. Then discuss how they can further improve on
certain aspects that needs improvement like getting instructions right, etc. If
you think your household is doing well then just spend sometime to talk about
their family, how they are, etc. I’m sure they have a lot to share but are just shy to initiate.
Quite a long read but I hope you still reached this part of my message. As parents, we only want the best for our family and that we do all we can to rear responsible children. I hope that I was able to impart something helpful and insightful to you dear parents :)
