25: Leadership and fatherhood

I don’t know if my experience as a new leader shaped how I am as a dad, or if my experience as a new dad shaped how I am as a leader. Either way, the combination of navigating both at the same time brought more fulfillment and personal growth than anything I’ve ever experienced.

Friday was my last day as a Manager in Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Services. (I started a new job today selling Vanguard products and insights to large independent advisors across the Midwest.) Yesterday was my first Father’s Day. As I reflect on the lessons I’ve learned from my first crack at leadership and fatherhood, I have three key takeaways:

1. Show up daily: To me this is the most difficult, but most important responsibility of both roles. Little wins every day have made the biggest long term impact. Contrarily, when I begin to slack on my routine, I can see it in the results. On a daily basis, I’ve needed to bring the energy, have the presence, and make the contributions to earn the squeaks from Charlie, the smiles from Jordan, and the outcomes from my advisors. Some days were easier than others, and I haven’t quite mastered these disciplined daily habits, but through my experiences with parenting and leadership, I learned the importance of showing up every day.

2. It takes a village: I couldn’t and wouldn’t ever want to do this alone, so I’ve surrounded myself with great people. As a leader, I was nothing without my peers, my boss, proactive advisors on my team, and other business partners that I could always rely on. As a dad, I’ve depended on my family and friends, Daycare, baby books, and all of Charlie’s fun toys. More than anything, Jordan has been a Hall of Fame partner in crime and her patience, guidance, and example has molded me into the father that I’ve become. It takes a village to lead a team, and it takes another village to raise a child. I’m lucky to be in two of the best villages.

3. I grow from helping others grow: As a leader and a dad, the learning never stops. As I focused on the progress and development of Charlie and my team, I sometimes didn’t even realize that I was progressing right alongside of them. But looking back at the last two years as a leader and the past year as a father, I’m a different person today than when I started. I’m proud to say that the same goes for the people I’ve led.

I will continue to build upon and apply these three takeaways to everything I do. Being a leader and a father have been two of the greatest honors in my life. It was meaningful to celebrate these honors yesterday surrounded by the best that I could ever learn from.

I hope it was a special Father’s Day for all of the dads who continue to show up every day, surround themselves with the right village, and grow alongside of their kids. I also hope the experience has been as rewarding for you as it has for me.