Lessons from the King (My Dad)!

Once Upon a Time there was a King who was also just a Dad…I thought I’d take this Father’s Day week and talk about lessons learned from my Dad!

Work Hard so you can play hard: My dad owned a roofing company.  I can only think of a few worse jobs.  It was hot, smelly and really hard work.  But my dad always had a smile.  It was especially bright at the end of the day for us.  We were lucky that he couldn’t work in the dark. Nights, weekends and winters were for family and friends. Our home was the gathering place.  I try to turn work off after a certain time and the weekends are just for us.  If I have extra work, I do it when my son is sleeping. 

Love should be fun: I am so blessed to know that my parents had an unbelievable love for each other.  They showed affection and laughed all the time.  He never walked past her without a kiss or a tap.  After the age of 10 I rolled my eyes.  But it taught me what to look for in a husband and how I wanted my family to be. 

Family is explosive sometimes: People who knew my parents reading this are going, yeah, what about the fights? Holy fights!  No one in family ever had an ulcer, because we held nothing in!  Those fights taught me not to yell so loud to get my point across and to always say what is bothering you.  Someone can’t change or fix a problem if they don’t know what’s upsetting you.

Love is unconditional: My dad was my step-dad.  He loved me even though he didn’t have to.  When I did things wrong, he didn’t push it off because I wasn’t his.  He was my biggest fan at every spring show (I had no talent, trust me) and even came to watch me cheer at basketball games (even though I knew he just wanted to be watching the game).  The lesson here was obvious, people aren’t perfect but you love and support them anyway. 

When you need advice ask your Dad: My dad died a long time ago.  Sometimes, I wonder what he would do in a tough situation.  The lesson learned is to seek out advice from someone with experience.  In our twenties we think we know everything, the older I get I realize the less I know. 

So what does any of this have to do with HR?  All these are lessons we can use in life and work.  Work hard but have balance in your life and workplace.  Work should be fun and it will be explosive. If you love what you do there will be ups and downs, but don’t toss in the towel when it's hard.  Work through it, find your passion and get rolling again.  Seek out a mentor.  We’ve all gone through rough times, find someone that will coach you through difficult times at work….Hey, it might even be your Dad you call!

Happy Father’s Day Everyone!  What was the greatest lesson you learned from your Dad? Tell us in the comments' section. 

Once upon a time...there was a boring HR person sitting in a back office filling out paperwork spouting sections from the handbook. I’m not that HR person. Work is a scary and sometimes funny place with lots of lessons to learn along the way. People don’t follow the rules, its HR’s job to steer them in the right direction. My name is Denise Benages, president of HR Midwest, Inc.

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