LEAD DAD 101

Why Dads Want To Avoid Being Labeled with “Weaponized Incompetence”

What’s the best way to get both partners, parents, spouses involved at home and open about what they’re doing in the office? I shared some of my thoughts recently when I was interviewed for The Washington Post. It’s easier and harder to achieve than you’d think. The WaPo piece, ‘Weaponized incompetence’ can harm relationships. Here’s […]

What’s a Dad Do To Change the Movie Playing In His Head? – Alex Trippier

Sometimes our memories of fatherhood don’t match up with our reality as dads. And then we face a choice: try to become what we think our fathers were or reimagine the role. “The pictures I had in my head of fatherhood were of me driving around in the car with my son in the back,” […]

How The Strong Bond of Golf Helps Men

At the start of my career, I sought out mentors. Most of them were old enough to be my father, which was a good thing. Given how and where I grew up, there was no one in my family who had any idea how to help me navigate Manhattan as a young journalist. I was […]

How To Get Out of Denial as a Dad – Michael Pereira

Most things get worse when you’re in denial. For some Dads, getting out of that state requires pushing back against cultural norms, and that can be tough. Michael Pereira, our Lead Dad of the Week from Miami, wants to make it easier for dads like he was to skip – or at least speed through […]

How To Stay Connected with Your Friends As a Lead Dad

“I can’t believe Dad and Uncle Paul are talking like they see each other all the time.” That was my friend Tino Ricci’s 13-year-old daughter. From her middle school eyes, us picking up as if we lived next door was a head-scratching sight. We hadn’t seen each other in nearly four years. But we were […]

Why Making a Difference at Work and in Your Community Matters – Matthew Korn

Matthew Korn left and returned to his law firm in Columbia, S.C., for the same reason: He wanted more time with his children. Korn, who was born in upstate New York, went to college in Rhode Island and law school in Washington, D.C., was happy with where his move south had landed him, his wife […]

How a Management Consultant Learned to Manage Dad Life and Work – Corey Fernandez

The life of a management consultant is on the road. Or so conventional wisdom goes. It’s what Corey Fernandez, our Lead Dad of the Week from Travers City, Mich., thought when he gave the consulting firm he’d worked for ample notice that his wife Jess was pregnant with their first child. He let them know […]

How Do You Know If You’re a Lead Dad?

Here’s an answer to a question I get all the time: You know you’re a Lead Dad when you cancel your plans and step into the situation. It’s the simplest definition. You’re the one whose schedule generally has more flexibility and you’re the one who will …

How To Respond When Big Law Fails Working Parents – Evan Goodman

Here’s some news that will surprise few attorneys: Big Law isn’t conducive for working parents who want to be involved in their family’s everyday lives. Evan Goodman, our Lead Dad of the Week from Washington, D.C., challenged this notion but ultimately was forced to figure out a way to still practice corporate law at a […]

Three Lessons from Sing-A-Longs To Tate McRae

There’s an eight-year gap between my youngest and oldest. I’m still doing elementary school parenting, while thinking about college for my oldest. I think about it often as I try to plan my work around what needs to be done for them – and my wife, who has always had far less control of her […]

How Divorce Made This Man a Better Lead Dad – Elijah Mattox

Here’s one thing Elijah Mattox, a single Lead Dad of two from Orange County, Calif. who works in business operations, has learned: He’s a better dad today for having gone through a tough divorce when his daughters were young. “I had to step up,” he said. “I was scared to take them places when they […]

How A High-Intensity Job Set a Lead Dad Up For Success – Andrew Pettit

Being a high-achiever with a perfectionist streak might not seem like the best training for the unpredictability of being a Lead Dad, but for Andrew Pettit, our Lead Dad of the Week from Darien, Conn., that background is serving him well. An Ivy League athlete, he’s had a career – from NBC and Viacom to […]

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