From Mum To The Universe

May 08, 2015 • 1 Min Read

The role of mums in early development of social skills

This being the day before Mother’s Day, we would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the roles of our mums (and dads!) in helping us with the building blocks of our ability to socialise and connect with our stakeholders today.

In her book Intentional Parenting, Dr. Yvonne Sum talks about role-modelling and how children learn consciously and unconsciously from parents.

The imprint period (up to the age of seven) – children are like sponges, accepting everything they observe, especially from their parents.
The modeling period (8–13 years) – we copy people! Trying on different styles.
The socialisation period (13–21 years) – largely influenced by peers.

Dr. Sum writes:

“Role-modelling as a parent is important to help your children develop in the formative pre-teen years. This foundation, the result of the role-modelling, will support the latter years of peer influence.”

“In identifying who I am as a role model, one of the first things I did was to clarify what I want to be remembered for in living my life,” she continues. And in order to do that, Dr. Sum had to ask herself what her purpose and vision are, and what values she stands for.

I firmly believe that in our professional lives, and in our efforts to map our stakeholder universe, we too need to be grounded on our purpose and vision (both as individuals and as an organisation), as well as the values we live by.

See main story: Stakeholder Analysis: What’s At Stake Here?