This work seeks to determine whether the act of being a parent
influenced a public administrator's leadership style, or in contrast,
whether leadership influenced ones parenting style. Although there has
been considerable research in both fields as independent disciplines,
there is minimal information on potential relationships between the two
subjects. This is surprising because parents are the first leaders each
of us are introduced to throughout childhood. Similar to leaders,
parents must use their experiences as a guide for leading their
children, inspire and lead by example, and set clear goals to maintain
order within the household. Similar to the way a parent must put the
needs of their child before self interests, leaders must remain mindful
of the importance of their duty to meet their constituents' best
interest while fulfilling the needs of the organization they serve.
However, the paucity of published research on the interconnectedness of
leadership and parenting leads one to conclude that the role of
parenting is historically undervalued as a leadership skill that could
be used within the workplace. This study sought to explore the gap
between leadership and parenting by asking the primary research
question, does a relationship exist between these two subjects,
especially in a public administration setting? This project uncovered
many interesting findings such as, cross cultural differences in
leadership styles between organizations, gender differences in
leadership and parenting styles, situational influences on decision
making with leadership and parenting roles and the importance of the
roles of leadership and parenting to public administration. This work
will be of interest to professionals and managers in the fields of
public administration, social work, education, and psychology.
Additionally, it is directed towards researchers and students of
leadership theories.
