Traveling with kids can be challenging, so when we were taking our 4.5 year old son and 3 year old daughter to California last week, we were a little apprehensive. What transpired though on our trip inspired my leadership message for the week.  As a parent, it can be hard to simply sit back and observe your own child’s behavior, but when you do, it is fascinating.  Children are naturally curious, they do not live in fear of judgement and they genuinely love to have fun.  Pablo Picasso said, “All children are artists, the problem is how to remain one, once they grow up.”  Somewhere along the path of growing up we begin to lose our sense of wonder and I found myself wanting to get some of mine back.  I started to think about how being more childlike, might make me a better leader and observed four ways.

1. Be Present - Children aren’t overly focused on the past or the future, they are almost prisoners of the moment.  At one point my son said; “I love California daddy”, to which I replied; “why?” and he said; “they have games, this great breakfast and the beautiful views.”  Now we have plenty of games at home, the breakfast was good not great and although I admit the views were stunning, it made me realize how much we don’t appreciate because we are always comparing to something in the past or an expectation for the future. 

1. Use Your Imagination - At one point during the drive from LA to San Luis Obispo we turned around to see my daughter singing with her headphones on.  April asked; “what are your headphones plugged into?”, and she simply held up the unplugged cord.  She wasn’t focused on what wasn’t there, she was content to have fun with what she had, singing and pretending that there was music in her ears.  As adults we often lack the ability to imagine what could be or how something can be used because of our beliefs that have been shaped over time.

1. Ask Questions - Kids aren’t shy about asking questions for fear of sounding dumb.  They are curious and want to know about everything.  How many times do you find yourself wondering what something is, but feeling reluctant to ask because you have this preconceived notion that you should already know what it is?  As my kids had the chance to see new things and explore new territory, they had a myriad of questions, many of which I didn’t know the answer and realized I should be asking the same thing.  Children also aren’t afraid to challenge a “no” answer with “Why?”, especially when the question is; “Daddy, can I have another ice cream cone?”.

1. Integrate Play - I think if you are under the age of 10, you just have more fun than everyone else.  Children see opportunities to play everywhere and adults find reasons not to play in those same situations.  At beach with some friends on our first day there, the kids immediately started picking up sand, throwing it in the ocean, getting dirty, running around, and finding treasures as the adults just walked along and talked reluctant to even put our toes in the water.  It was good to catch up, but I realized we weren’t doing anything that would create a long lasting memory.  Two days later, at the next beach, I found myself with my shoes off - feet in the cold water, showing the kids how to skip rocks, drawing names and pictures in the sand with them and creating a much different experience than two days prior.

Being more childlike can help us be more creative, more innovative and open us up to a whole new world of possibilities.  My goal this week is to integrate these four things into every day - I challenge you to channel your inner child and do the same.

*Each week I share a leadership message with our team and we are honored to share it with you via MIBE Tribe.  MIBE (the acronym for Make It Better Everyday) Tribe delivers education on heart leadership and intentional culture building for the hospitality industry.