Any parent understands that a happy and healthy home is one under good leadership. Children need a relatively firm hand to guide them through the tricky decisions and challenges that life throws at them. Therefore good leadership styles in the house will provide that firm hand (whether directly or indirectly) and will hence help your children's progress and the smooth running of the house.



As many parents would confirm - a lack of leadership in a household can result in a stressful and confrontational environment. The ideallic families on television seem like a pipe dream and unattainable. However with the right methods, techniques and determination - your family can too be harmonious and successful.

I cannot guarantee that these methods will work for everyone, merely that if you put them into action with good faith and a decent effort, you should see an improvement in family life, however marginal that difference may be. Any improvement is worth a few minutes of your time to read this article, so I invite you to read carefully and make notes of any key points you wish to implement yourself. Creating practical steps of action is the most effective way to make a leadership style or technique turn into reality, so this is what I would advise.

1. Indirect persuasion is far better for your child.

In many situations, as parents, we could easily employ an autocratic leadership style. By this I mean that you become almost like a dictator and boss your children around, giving no room for backchat or error. By giving the right orders in a sincere and forceful enough way, you can generally get children to do what you want, but it will be stressful and won't help strength family bonds.

It is always far better to let children discover mistakes/ or the best course of action on their own. This is where an 'indirect' leadership style comes in. As a parent, you need to 'create a scene' where the child will learn exactly the same lesson as the one you were about to directly say to them.

For example, if you wish for a children to stick by you to ensure they don't get lost. Instead of continually nagging at them to stay by your side for the entire shopping trip -- If they seem to be wandering off and paying little attention, then continue on and 'hide' out of view. Within moments, the child will notice that they are lost and will become rather scared. After a very short while, you simply need to reappear, and the child will instantly and powerfully remember that they should stick by you for the rest of the trip.

With a little imagination, this method can be used to teach children lessons or give orders in all types of situations, but with the advantages of a happier child and less friction with your relationship with the child.

As I mentioned before, I'd like you to write down a list of situations where you believe you could use this effective leadership style to your advantage, now go and play them out!