Very controversial topic. Psychology Today depicts the answer as yes based on Joanne Stern, Ph.D., whom is a psychotherapist.
However, I would venture to turn the question around as “Have you learned proper management/leadership skills from being parented by your mother and father?” “What have you learned that makes you or has allowed you to follow this path?” “What makes you a better manager from what has been instilled in your thought process and values?” Not everything is driven by academics in school or what you are born with.
Children are just that, children, which are easily influenced day to day. The things you can attribute to possibly learning are building trust, improving communications, empowering but these same attibutes being respective of those who don't or can't have children, can be learned as a pet owner such as a dog owner or a cat owner.
You have to have and show discipline, you have to have and show patience, you have to give instructions, and many pets can be challenging. You have to be there when they are sick or do you let them expire? So does being a pet owner make you a better manager?
I think there are attributes that can very easily be depicted from your question, but not always. Example- I heard a story of a pastor who stood at the pulpit every Sunday preaching how to respect your wife, how you should treat them but people had heard the pastor was everything opposite he spoke about. When the story final broke the news, the pastor was exactly what he was saying not to be. He was mistreating his wife, beating her, disrespecting her. Does this mean he was a better pastor because he was married and capable of talking on the topic and practicing in public?
Therefore, IMHO, I do not really think by having a family and/or children makes you a better manager. You might be a little bit more aware of certain aspects. All in all I really think good management/leadership is and inert ability from what you’ve been taught, what you’ve learned, your beliefs, and how you deal with things and much has a lot to do with personality traits, Type A and Type B’s, not with how you rear your kids.
In the personality category, a Type B is a person who is introverted and Type A is extroverted. Type A’s make better leaders and tend to need the lime light, and like being in the middle of things, whereas Type B’s rather sit back and not be in the spotlight, not giving direction. This is not to say Type B’s cannot be a great leader but the inert desire to manage/lead is usually something you as a person want. Type B’s usually (not always choose) choose to be a follower. Does that mean a Type B because he/she does not want to manage/lead make him/her a good manager/leader if he/she now has children? We all know right from wrong, we all learn from different aspects but believing you are a better manager because you can base your experiences off of the ability to manage little people doesn’t mean you’re cut out to manage a business force.
You could actually start the discussion whereas is women better managers than men? It’s all perception and what your inert adeptness is to how you manage/lead. And if the case in point is true that women are better managers than men, then that would mean they get all the kudos for spending more time with the children that has taught them the many avenues to become better managers. Be careful what is imposed in belief.
http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/.../peter-drucker-on-leadership/
http://managementhelp.org/ldr_dev/samples/samples.htm
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