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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
Being a CEO is my full-time job, but I\u2019m also a full-time dad. Raising a child is much different from growing a business, so I typically try to compartmentalize these roles. But sometimes they converge in valuable ways. Parenting is a type of mentorship, after all, and mentorship is integral to effective leadership. Anything I do to help my children improve skills or solve problems usually becomes something I can bring to work.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s an example: Every fall, I volunteer as the videographer for my son\u2019s high school football team. This is personally fulfilling for a few reasons. Not only do I get to spend time with him and his friends, but I also get to be a geek about cinematography and video editing, which are personal passions of mine.<\/p>\n
I love technology, which is how I ended up leading one of the industry\u2019s largest power dialing platforms<\/a>, so it\u2019s nice to tinker with cameras and lenses in my spare time. But observing the team\u2019s games has also helped hone my eye for detail, deepen my understanding of how social dynamics impact team performance and allow me to recognize which moments truly matter \u2014 in a game, a day at the office, and my life as a whole.<\/p>\n Before I started shooting games for the team, I\u2019d often rely on what I could see from the bleachers to tell me how things were going. That bird\u2019s-eye view lets you witness plays, downs and touchdowns \u2014 but it doesn\u2019t put you close enough to the players to fully understand their experience.<\/p>\n A running back might have a plan in mind when they catch a pass, but if they spot an opposing player closing in on them from the corner of their eye, they have to adapt. An audience member might think they\u2019re deviating from the plan, but they can\u2019t see what the player sees.<\/p>\n When I started viewing games through my zoom lens, it did more than get me closer to the action. It gave me proximity to the problems players faced, and that gave me deeper insight into the decisions they made.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the same at PhoneBurner. Many leaders prefer to delegate process documentation and review to middle management, but I\u2019ve never been comfortable with such a hands-off approach. I started my career in tech by tinkering in my workshop, and that\u2019s still largely how I operate.<\/p>\n Summaries are great for saving time, but they miss details. When I assess the success of an update based on a secondhand account, I can\u2019t consider anything my direct reports chose to leave out. When I\u2019ve personally observed the work, I can provide more informed feedback because I\u2019ve seen the same details my team sees.<\/p>\n When a play succeeds or fails, it\u2019s not always a reflection of the strategy involved. Sometimes it\u2019s about whether the right people were put in the right positions or how well certain personalities were able to work together.<\/p>\n I see more than just strategy when I film my son\u2019s games. I see the emotion behind the game and the relationships that make up the team. I see the sweat beading on the kicker\u2019s brow that tells me he\u2019s nervous before a punt, or the glares shot between two linebackers that let me know the personal friction between them is going to impact their ability to form a cohesive defense.<\/p>\n My point is, monitoring a team is about more than measuring performance KPIs. It also has the ability to teach you invaluable lessons about talent and culture. A scorecard full of metrics can help you understand how efficient an employee is, but it can\u2019t tell you about their character or whether they\u2019re experiencing issues with one of their coworkers that might be holding back their collaboration. You need to personally be able to observe their work if you want those kinds of insights.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s zoom out for a second.<\/p>\n The most important thing about filming my son\u2019s football games hasn\u2019t been that I\u2019ve gained an appreciation for gridiron tactics, or that I\u2019ve learned downstream lessons that have made me a more observant CEO. It\u2019s that I\u2019ve gotten to know him better by being involved in his passions.<\/p>\n I know how much he loves the game. I know how much he values his friends. And I know what kind of man he\u2019s becoming. That\u2019s worth the world to me.<\/p>\n You can never fully appreciate the things you\u2019re not involved in. That\u2019s true whether you\u2019re a parent or not, but it has special significance to me as a father. It\u2019s mission-critical for me to stay looped in on what\u2019s happening at PhoneBurner, but it\u2019s personally critical for me to be close to my kid and see the world through his eyes. That doesn\u2019t just make it easier for me to understand what he\u2019s going through today. It also helps me participate effectively in planning for his future.<\/p>\n So don\u2019t be afraid to get closer to what matters to you. It\u2019s not going to make you too invested or less objective. It\u2019s going to make you more invested and more aware. Which is what every great role model, at home or in the workplace, needs to be.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Being a CEO is my full-time job, but I\u2019m also a full-time dad. Raising a child is much different from growing a business, so I typically try to compartmentalize these roles. But sometimes they converge in valuable ways. Parenting is a type of mentorship, after all, and mentorship is integral to effective leadership. Anything I do to help my children improve skills or solve problems usually becomes something I can bring to work.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example: Every fall, I volunteer as the videographer for my son\u2019s high school football team. This is personally fulfilling for a few reasons. Not only do I get to spend time with him and his friends, but I also get to be a geek about cinematography and video editing, which are personal passions of mine.<\/p>\n I love technology, which is how I ended up leading one of the industry\u2019s largest power dialing platforms<\/a>, so it\u2019s nice to tinker with cameras and lenses in my spare time. But observing the team\u2019s games has also helped hone my eye for detail, deepen my understanding of how social dynamics impact team performance and allow me to recognize which moments truly matter \u2014 in a game, a day at the office, and my life as a whole.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDocumenting and reviewing is not just for your direct reports<\/h2>\n
Observing projects is about more than monitoring performance<\/h2>\n
Setting the right priorities depends on your ability to notice things<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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