As a teen, I was a babysitter. Back then; this was simply a way to earn extra money. I recently realized that a lot of what I learned Babysitting (especially when working with multiple children), I also applied to working with business teams (as their leader) and with employees (as their manager).
Below are the top 10 things I learned as a babysitter that also apply to management.
- A safe environment should be maintained to avoid injuries, name-calling, and bad feelings.
- Training is really necessary to move from a novice to a comfortable Skill level on anything new to people.
- Good time Management Skills and prioritization insures important things get done before time runs out.
- It is best to match tasks and jobs to the experience and skills of each person in the group.
- Having people work as a team often gets more done with better results.
- You can save time if you have a more skilled person partner with a new (or younger) person to learn something new or difficult to understand.
- A little healthy competition does not hurt, as long as it is done for fun.
- Be prepared for quick problem-solving, as there may not be time to dilly-dally.
- Always be prepared with a back-up plan or alternate idea, just in case things do not go as planned.
- Explain expectations upfront and be willing to negotiate when necessary.
If you want another perspective on grown-up business applications for babysitting, check out 4 Ways Babysitting Prepared You to Kick Ass at Your Job Today.