If you’re a parent, you probably have more in common with your manager than you think. Why? Because being a parent is really very similar to being a boss. If you don’t believe us, just check out these eight reasons that explain it all.

1. Communication is key

Your employees need to know the rules and boundaries of their workplace, as well as the consequences should they cross those lines – and so do your kids. Testing boundaries results in someone needing to suffer the consequences. Therefore, it’s much better to communicate what you want upfront rather than letting them work it out for themselves.

2. You must guide success

As a leader, your job is to take a team and bring them to the successful end of a project, adding to their achievements. As a parent, you have to bring your child through successful milestones in life, hopefully seeing their achievements as well. The bottom line is that you are responsible for how well they do, so you have to take charge.

3. Listening is a skill

Leaders need to talk – but they should also know how to listen. Though you don’t need to know everything that goes on, you do need to listen to feedback and concerns in order to be able to answer them. Sometimes, an open ear is all that is needed to find a new approach and reach greater heights. The same is true of being a parent – sometimes you kid just needs you to listen to them.

4. Tricks make everything easier

If there’s an easy way to do something that gets it done well, you should take it. That’s why bosses should allow their teams to use marketing automation software, digital records keeping, and automatic office door locks. At home, parents can rely on garage door software, baby monitors, and ready-made baby food or children’s meals.

5. Delegation is important

How can you learn to trust your employees, or your kids, if you don’t delegate responsibilities? More to the point, how will they every learn and grow? Take a step back and let kids clean up their own rooms, babysit their younger siblings, or even cook a meal under supervision. Your employees can handle social media on their own, take lead on projects, or go into smaller groups to work unsupervised for short times.

6. Trust is important

Building trust, and showing it, is really important. Let your child – or employee – spread their wings. If they let you down, you can ground them, or even fire them. But letting them see that you trust them could be what they need to achieve greatness.

7. Offer rewards

While neither your child nor your employee should expect rewards, it’s still nice to give them. The occasional ice cream or small bonus payment can show that you appreciate their hard work and good behaviour. Since it comes at random, you reinforce positive behaviour rather than creating a brat.

8. Focus on solutions

When a mess has been made, your first instinct may be to apportion blame. Instead, if you focus on rewarding the person who helps to clean it up, you’re going to see more positive results. While you must stick to the rules and a punishment system, it may be counterproductive to get to the bottom of who was to blame if it isn’t initially clear.

You probably never imagined that there could be so many ways in which bosses and parents overlap in their duties. Of course, the big difference is that only one of them gets paid!