We hear so much these days about work-life balance and probably feel guilty if we suspect we don't have the mix quite right. It's a bit like sex in marriage: surveys always suggest everyone else is having a party while we feel we're not getting our fair share even though, deep down, we suspect all the others are lying. There's another similarity, too, and it's that work-life balance is not something that's discussed often or openly. Even when people work for an organisation that is committed to encouraging a good work-life balance, senior staff more often than not feel guilty if they might be seen as not demonstrating sufficient commitment to their employer. This is especially the case for managers. Why else would all the available statistics show that Australian managers tend to work considerably more than 40 hours per week, if not 50-plus? The prevailing attitude appears to be: I can have a good work-life balance - once I've done everything my employer needs me to. It may be that managers become more liberated over time in their thinking on this issue but, for now, we seem to have our work and private lives out-of-kilter.

Still ... pondering work-life balance prompted some thought about parenting and the very, very many challenges it poses. When you think of the qualities and competencies required for skilled parenting, they're not far removed from the attributes needed for quality leadership and management. So, let's consider some of the essential skills of good parenting - and how they might be applied to exercise leadership at work.