I'm a CEO

As I'm sure I've mentioned to everyone, I'm currently knee-deep in my Nonprofit Management class. In the past week I've read over 120 pages and taken 30 pages of notes. I'm taking this one pretty seriously.

Today, I was reading about the leadership of nonprofit organizations, and I came to a realization...

I am the most important CEO EVER.

Okay, maybe that is a bit extreme, let me change that a bit. I am just one among many of the most important CEOs ever: I'm a mommy.

I know what you're thinking: "You're a stay-at-home mommy. They aren't CEOs.  They are nose-wipers, laundry-doers, dishwashers, teachers, homework-checkers, referees, and a million other things, but they are not CEOs."

But alas, I beg to differ. Let me illuminate you.

(Disclaimer: Let me go ahead and get this out there - I recognize in today's world some moms work, some stay at home, some dads stay at home, and some people have nannies. This blog is based off the perception that while not all moms work outside the home, all moms work; therefore, all moms share certain responsibilities.  Let's move on now, shall we?)

The CEO answers to the Board.
In this case, the board is the husband. Ewwww...I just said I answer to my husband! But guess what, it's biblical, and I'm okay with that!

"Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands,

as you do to the Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife 

as Christ is the head of the church, his body,

of which He is the Savior.

Now as the church submits to Christ, 

so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything."

Ephesians 5:22-24

The Board and the CEO each have responsibilities, but in those responsibilities they need to respect one another and support one another. Furthermore, as much as they have distinct responsibilities, they often overlap and, in the best organizations, the two positions cooperate with one another. However, in the end, someone has to have the final say; there has to be a hierarchy, or else, you get the awful clash of two powers who both think they are the final authority, the one in the right.

CEOs have a lot of power, but ultimately, they answer to the Board.



The CEO - A Manager
In my textbook, managers are referred to as people who get things done.  They are worried about day-to-day operations. That's what we worry about as moms right?

Who needs to be where and when?
What needs to get done and when?
What responsibilities does everyone have?

Moms get stuff done. You want something done? Give it to a mama. We know how to allocate resources, make lists, and accomplish goals.

We are managers.


The CEO - A Leader
"Aren't the terms manager and leader synonymous?" you may ask. Nope.

As described above, managers get things done. Leaders inspire.

Yowser... that sends shivers up my spine, both because of the awesomeness of the responsibility and the fact that I feel I fail at it far too often.

"Leadership is more about purpose, vision, and direction - that is, more about the 'where' and the 'why' rather that the 'how'" (Worth, 2014, p. 103).

As parents, and particularly as moms, we are not just running households, we are molding these beautiful gifts into who they will become - not as factories, producing a uniform product, but as artists, using God's raw materials and gently forming them into the masterpieces He wants them to become.

Each child is different; they have different strengths and different personality traits.  It is our job to make sure we direct them toward God and His path for them, always inspiring them to be better and do better by our words and our actions.

"Train a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Proverbs 22:6

The Best CEOs are Transformational Leaders
Transactional leaders reward or punish based on behavior, but transformational leaders change people. "Transformational leadership inspires and enables people to grow, both morally and in terms of their levels of motivation. It empowers individuals to go beyond self-interest and pursue goals that are in the common interest" (Worth, 2014).

Um... that's pretty cool.

I lead my children all the time.  I love them and we have a great relationship, BUT... am I really putting as much effort as I should in being a transformational leader and not just a transactional leader?

That's a tough one, and it's complicated. Even the textbook says, sometimes, you just have to reward and punish behaviors, but it shouldn't be my fallback all the time. I need to make sure my kids understand the values behind the rules. I need to address they "why" not just the "how."


The Best CEO
Who is the best example of a CEO? The wife and mother of Proverbs 31.

-Her husband has full confidence in her (v. 11).
-She is an amazing manager (vs. 11-19).
-She is a leader and gives to the poor generously and takes care of her servants (vs. 15, 20).
-She shows traits often associated with a transformational leader in that she has strength and dignity, speaks with wisdom, and gives faithful instruction (vs. 25-26).

She is the leader I desperately want to become, and I will seek the face of the Lord in an effort to daily make strides toward that goal, not for praise or glory for me, but for my family, and above all, for the glory of God.

Christian ladies, we are the CEOs of our families - and like other nonprofits (because anyone who has kids knows it's not a profitable venture) we are endowed with the great responsibility of leading our organization toward our mission - to bring glory, honor, and praise to God Almighty.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

Reference

Worth, M. J. (2014). Nonprofit Management (3rd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.