There’s a growing trend in the workplace that’s hard to ignore: parents are becoming increasingly involved in their adult children’s careers. From helping with applications to sitting in on interviews and even contacting employers. At what point does helping someone succeed begin to prevent them from learning how to succeed on their own?

In this conversation on the Leading with Instinct podcast, Katie Navarra-Bradley, Professional Facilitator and Leadership Coach with Katie the Coach, and Ginny Telego, President of Collaboration Partners, take a look at what happens inside a horse herd as younger members learn how to navigate boundaries, relationships, mistakes and uncertainty.

Rather than protecting young horses from every uncomfortable experience, older horses provide guidance, correction and protection when it’s truly needed.

Support doesn’t have to mean stepping in and solving the problem. Sometimes it means opening a door, asking good questions, allowing someone to experience disappointment or failure, and giving them safe opportunities to make decisions on their own.

Takeaways

— Support without taking over. Helping someone find an opportunity is different from navigating it for them.

— Let failure teach. Disappointment and rejection can build resilience when people are allowed to work through them.

— Create safe independence. Give younger employees opportunities to make real decisions before the stakes become higher.

— Correct, then move forward. Good feedback provides guidance without repeatedly reliving the mistake.

— Challenge stereotypes. Don’t assume younger workers want someone else making decisions for them.

— Prepare for uncertainty. Resilience comes from learning how to handle unfamiliar situations, not rehearsing every possible one.

— Know when to protect. Strong leaders recognize the difference between a growth opportunity and a situation requiring intervention.

The Leading With Instinct Podcast is brought to you by Collaboration Partners and KatieTheCoach.com.

Chapters

00:39 Introduction

02:30 Helicopter Parenting

11:33 Helpful Parental Roles

15:39 Lessons Learned from “Parental” Horses

21:07 AI’s Impact on Younger Workers

24:33 Lessons Learned from Young Horses

29:00 Understanding the Real Needs of Generation Z

33:05 Setting Boundaries

Helpful Links:

Katie Navarra-Bradley, Katie The Coach: https://katiethecoach.com/

Ginny Telego, Collaboration Partners: https://www.thecollaborationpartners.com/