Translating Skills

Several months ago, I had an interview for a job at a company where I'd been wanting to work. I didn't get the job, but I think often about how well the interviewer was able to translate my past experience into good qualifications for this vastly different job. We spent a long time talking about how, as a Director, I didn't need to know all the technical aspects of a camera to work with camerapeople or all the ins and outs of the lighting grid to tell a Lighting Director what I wanted to see.  If I was to be a coordinating force among members of a team, I needed only to be able to see how the parts made up the whole, and to make sure each part made its contribution well and on time.
 
As my children get older, I am finding that philosophy very useful at home as well.  As with shooting a television show, running a family has particular goals, and in both cases, recognizing the needs and interests of all the team members, and finding ways to meet those needs and still accomplish the goal puts a person in a good position.  So, when one child wants to go somewhere and I need the others to follow suit, what is it that will motivate those others (because, as in a workplace, in a family, different people respond to different things)?  I don't need to know why my son likes the TV shows he does, only that he will respond if it means being able to keep watching them.  I may not understand everything about my daughter's homework, but if I give her the tools (a quiet room, a computer, colored pencils, whatever) she needs to complete it, we will all be happier.  In life, those who succeed as managers are able to keep both the goal of the group and the interests of its members in mind.


I can easily count numerous times when understanding the motivations of each family member has helped me accomplish things for us as a family group, and, believe me, the sacrifices necessary to motivate each person are almost always worth it.  I'm not sure if there's a resume adjustment necessary here, but I've got to love the fact that my directing skills translate, not just to other jobs, but to day to day family life as well.