Lead Dad 101
What Happened When I Was Scrooge at Santa’s Breakfast
If there’s one thing I should have remembered from Christmases past, it’s that Santa is a patient, engaged listener. And that’s not aligned with being a hyper-efficient working parent ping-ponging through the holidays. Santa’s job is to listen to the k …
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 …
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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 […]
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What A Dad Won After Losing A Much-Anticipated Golf Tournament
All week, I’ve been thinking about a defeat last weekend. It’s buoyed my spirits, particularly around working dads and male friendships. Here’s the background: I look forward to playing golf with my cousin in a two-day member-guest tournament every fall. Each September, I think this is going to be the year we win our flight […]
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What’s Scarier at a Beach? Sharks or Bad HR Policies?
Every time my daughter asked if there were sharks in the water, if jelly fish were going to sting her, if there were fish biting her toes, I said no. At this beach, I said she needed to worry about angry, mini-Bernadoodles running along the bottom of the ocean floor and nipping at her! When […]
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Why Mom Doesn’t Need To Be Called When Dad Is There
When my daughter finished her checkup at the orthodontist, I moved toward the front desk to schedule the next appointment. “Should I call mom?” the receptionist said, smiling, proud, like she was saying something clever. “That’s a bit sexist, isn’t it,” I said. “Well, you’d be surprised.” No, no, I wouldn’t be surprised. Not at […]
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Why This Is The Best Round of My Golf Year
If you’re going to succeed – and ultimately be happy – as a Lead Dad, you get one hobby. Event Dads can master more and dabble in many, from racquet sports and golf, to skiing and boating, to running or cycling with some occasional hunting and a fishing trips thrown in here or there. As […]
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How To Do Relax and Do It Well
“How did you live like that?” This was my eight-year-old’s response when I told her that I grew up in a place, at a time, when Starbucks wasn’t ubiquitous in towns like ours. She and I had walked alone into town to get a smoothie bowl – also something I’d never heard of, if it […]
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Teach Your Kids The Randomness Of Life
Trips with kids are meant to expand their minds, to show them something different. We took our three daughters to Paris where we stayed at a friend’s apartment. It was also their first time to Europe. That alone would have been mind expanding. But we had three random encounters that got them thinking about how […]
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