More than just "Dad Jokes"
Welcome to Sunday! Today is the 3rd Sunday in June, so it’s Father’s Day here in the U.S. I’m not sure about you but I spent some time today celebrating with friends and family, enjoying an amazing meal and reflecting on my own role as a father to my kids and on my relationship with my own father, some 19 years gone now.
It’s interesting that Mother’s Day (discussed last month HERE) was really gaining popularity in the early 1900’s, when the idea for Father’s Day took root. Unlike Mother’s Day however, which became an official holiday in 1914, Father’s Day didn’t become an official holiday until 1972.
The seed for Father’s Day was planted in Spokane, Washington in 1909. Sonora Smart Dodd was sitting in a church pew listening to a Sunday sermon on Mother’s Day when the idea struck her. She and her 5 siblings were being raised by their father, after their mother died in childbirth. She asked her minister if he would give a sermon about fathers in honor of her own father’s birthday which was coming up in June. She thought that since mothers had a dedicated day then fathers should be honored in a similar fashion. Her minister delivered the sermon and then brought the idea to the local ministerial society and it grew from there.
As leaders, we are often thrust into the role of a father figure, whether we are men or women. It’s interesting that men and women need both sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen in our systems to function in a normal and healthy capacity. We assume women just have estrogen and men just have testosterone, but we need both to survive. Men need estrogen to actually manufacture testosterone at times, and certain sexual functions could not happen for men without circulating estrogen.
Takeaways for leaders:
Embrace your inner opposite. If you are a female leader, there are certain characteristics commonly associated with being a father that you can leverage. After all, you have testosterone circulating in your system too. If you are a male leader, you can embrace the role of a “male mother” and leverage certain characteristics commonly associated with being a mother. Taking on the opposite role does not make you weak, it actually makes you a more complete, well-rounded and effective leader.
Remember the power of ONE: remember Sonora Smart Dodd. She had an idea that she brought up to one other person. That person then acted on her idea and then shared it with others. A national holiday eventually ensued. All it takes is one person to spark a movement (a great video depicting this can be found HERE). Never underestimate the power of one person to bring about change. That person could be you or it could be someone on your team.
In 1963, German social scientist Alexander Mitscherlich wrote an important but difficult book entitled Society without the Father, where he offered a critique of changes in the family structure and how he saw them negatively affecting social norms. As leaders, we need to understand how these relationships affect the people we lead. Some of us have had great relationships with our fathers and others of us, not so much. So, on this Father’s Day, I hope you took some time to reflect on how fathers or father-figures past or present have helped you become who you are today.
See you next Sunday!