In parts one and two we looked at two of the many roles that a father plays. We looked at him as financier where he has a role in being a provider for the family. But we saw that being a provider is not what our family needs from us the most. We then looked at his role as a friend and how hard it is to be something much more than our child’s buddy. In this, our last installment of the series, I want to explore the most important role that a man will play in life and his relationship to his children.
Father – “Father knows best.”
>Boy, I really wish this last statement were true 100% of the time. We all know it isn’t. But at the end of the day, we are responsible. President Harry S Truman said, “The buck stops here.” And the “buck” of responsibility stops with the father. Another way of looking at it is this. “We may not always be right, but we are always the parent.” And we need to act accordingly. We need to step up and make the tough decisions. We need to make decisions that may be unpopular with our children. And we will make some bad decisions. And when we make a bad decision or a mistake, we need to acknowledge it. Our children will not lose respect for us when we admit a mistake. In fact, the opposite is true. They will come to respect us even more by seeing that we love and respect them enough to acknowledge when we have failed them.
I think homes in America today are places of “Fatherhood Vacuums”. Divorce has ravaged our families, our homes and our society. And so often, Mom has had to step in to fill the void left by an absent father. There can even be fatherhood voids in homes where the father still remains. How tragic is that when a father is present physically but absent emotionally?
So what is my point today?
My point is this. Is it my role primarily to provide for the needs of my family if possible? Absolutely! But that is not the most important role that I have. Is it my role to be a friend to my children and build a relationship of closeness and camaraderie? Absolutely! But of the three roles, financier, friend and father, being a real father is the most important of them all.
Go be a “father” today!
Photo credit: Thomas Leuthard / Foter.com / CC BY
Photo credit: Tojosan / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
What a great quote! And what a great insight into a key leadership trait. The business community is all about collaboration these days. And I believe in collaboration. But, sometimes, a true leader, an innovator like Henry Ford, needs to see far beyond what those around him see.
