8 Reasons Why Military Spouses Make Natural Business Leaders

by Dr. Krista Wells, The Military Spouse Coach®

Home leadership, a term coined by my husband Dr. Richard Wells, occurs when a leader in a home takes control to actively move his or her family toward a vision. Home leaders are responsible for ensuring the educational, physical, and social development of all the people in one's family, including children and adults.

However, home leaders can take many forms for military families, including grandparents assuming temporary custody of their grandchildren for dually deployed couples, military widows/widowers singlehandedly raising kids, military spouses raising foster children, etc.

While military spouses' visions as home leaders differ greatly, the skills used to achieve health and happiness at home actually prove quite transferable to paid positions. Businessman and writer Max Du Pree defines leadership as inherently linked to our relationships, meaning that the parents and spouses among us are actively learning important leadership skills as we manage our families.

Home leaders are visionaries, task coordinators, and excellent communicators. We are both solutions-oriented and extremely well principled. We take care of ourselves while we take care of our teams.

Organizations need more leadership, and the military spouse community is an excellent place to find these leaders. Perhaps that is why, increasingly, businesses and governments are doing more than simply acknowledging the strength of our spouse community—they are making conscious efforts to employ more of us in leadership roles.

Over a decade ago, I made the career move from corporate recruiting to coaching, allowing me to help individuals hone the qualities that organizations seek while highlighting the many skills that my military spouse clients already possess. It is thus through a performance management  lens that I share eight of the many competencies of home leaders that allow them to flourish in business environments.

Skill #1: Vision

Excellent leaders are visionaries; just think of animator and businessman Walt Disney, who once said, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” When I walked around the Magic Kingdom with my husband and my four children last month, I could almost feel how far-seeing this man must have been, imagining his goals for Disney coming to fruition so clearly in his mind—that's vision!

Home leaders know what type of lifestyles they desire and are able to hold onto such visions long term. We are able to see what we want for our family's future and take the necessary steps to help that vision manifest. We allow space for potential expansion, thinking beyond the realm of what seems possible now.

Being able to hold a vision in one's mind and manifest it daily and over a long period of time is a great skill for organizational leaders to possess and one that many of us unconsciously develop as military spouses. Companies need employees who can work toward things that are bigger than themselves, which is why military spouses are such a great fit for organizational culture.

Skill #2: Communication

Home leaders are also solid communicators, able to effectively articulate our values to others. We embrace service and live our lives in a vital way that inspires those around us. We act as role models, serving both our communities and children in an authentic manner that develops naturally.

Home leaders communicate in different ways, often evolving along with their children's growing ages and changing needs. This ability to communicate effectively is a skill that translates successfully into organizations. Ideas need to be communicated consistently across all organizational levels and explained effectively to each department as needed.

Just as organizations make the biggest and most successful changes when everyone is on the same page, families change when both the parents and the children support the mission. These savvy and flexible communication skills should never be underestimated.

Skill #3: Solutions-Focused Mindsets

While we are married to soldiers who have clear missions in mind, we often have strong callings of our own. As military spouses, we envision nurturing success at home and becoming fulfilled both as individuals and families.

As home leaders, we are solutions oriented. Home leaders embrace the idea that what you focus on grows while also embracing unexpected changes. We understand that some things must be accepted while also recognizing that less obvious solutions often emerge when we expand our minds to creative possibilities.

Home leaders approach problems with careful eyes, pinpointing appropriate solutions. We avoid getting wrapped up in the details and get the job done. As military spouses, we must be solutions-focused all the time, but we often don't recognize how helpful this skill can be within today's organizations.

Skill #4: Self-Confidence

Good leaders have faith in themselves and feel worthy of focusing on their goals. They are experts at “feeling the fear and doing it anyway,” as psychologist Susan Jeffers explains. Military spouses can manage change. They might feel wary of facing a first deployment, but my clients often share that they have learned to master the stages of deployment stress. Within corporations, mergers and acquisitions aren't as scary to such leaders who can confidently manage change.

While home leaders are often able to accept unexpected changes more effectively, this doesn't mean that we neglect self-care. However, we can often expand and contract our own requirements based on the needs of others, another skill that translates well within organizational culture.

Military spouses are accustomed to taking over many responsibilities when a spouse is deployed, whether it's managing family finances or caring for one's kids as a temporary single parent. We know how to ask for help and delegate efficiently.

Oftentimes, organizations ask employees to wear multiple hats, sometimes even attending to their own jobs as well as those of others. As military spouses, we have essentially mastered this skill—we accept what we need to do and know that we can get it done.

Skill #5: Task Management

Home leaders are skilled at multitasking in efficient, clever ways. We plan for the future while ensuring that ongoing tasks are in alignment with our values and goals.

For example, my cousin Mindy never ceases to impress me with her ability to anticipate her kids' and guests' needs. She always has the perfect amount of food prepared and is able to delegate, ensuring that everything gets done simultaneously and no one is left unattended or hungry for long.

It's honestly leadership art! She manages her family and her time so well. However, like my cousin, many military spouses don't give themselves enough credit when it comes to their ability to orchestrate simultaneous tasks and multitask effectively.

I hear so many spouses express concern that they won't be able to find jobs because they haven't “worked” for a few years as they raised their children. I assure them that they have plenty of transferable workplace skills and work experience—it simply wasn't paid!

Skill #6: Goal-Oriented Thinking

Skilled home leaders set and attain goals. And, like in businesses, when these goals are met, we come up with new ones—we continuously expand our overall visions and work toward continued growth. This ability to decide what goals and action steps work in line with particular visions takes practice, which most of us have received by virtue of being military spouses!

We are constantly signing up for schools trips and activities, decorating houses, and packing—all while maintaining family routines.

Military spouses are regularly setting goals and measuring progress. We often develop goals to strive towards while our spouses are deployed, such as teaching our youngest to read, finding a meaningful job, or even training for a marathon. Spouses naturally set goals and measure their progress—thus organizations can benefit greatly from hiring such driven, goal-oriented individuals.

Skill #7: Determination

Whenever I am faced with a dilemma, whether big or small, I turn to research. I do some online searching, go to the library or buy books on the topic of concern, talk to other parents, and really seek out seasoned professionals until I have more answers than questions.

Many military spouses I work with have the same high level of determination. This vigor is a great hidden organizational leadership skill—simply put, we see problems as opportunities for solutions. Once we've accepted that a problem must be solved and is changeable, we develop and implement well-conceived plans.

In short, we not only talk the talk but walk the walk.

Skill #8: Principles

Military spouses are also quite principled. After all, we are making do without our partners for the betterment of our countries, while also learning military culture and minding the home front.

Home leaders work to enact these principles in our households, while understanding both the big picture and complexities of individual situations. We help each child discover how to identify their unique values, express these principles, and weave them into the family's landscape.

Organizations appreciate employees who are familiar with their own values and those of the company they work for, while also being able to create a sense of continuity between the two. Companies that hire military spouses thus end up with successful leaders who truly believe in their employers.

The Value of Military Spouses' Experiences

Workplaces today are facing rapid change as the economy, new regulations, and corporate cultures all influence companies' bottom lines. In many ways, military spouses provide the solution to all of these needs: we are comfortable juggling two jobs, we are calm leaders, and we have strong ethics, allowing us to handle challenging situations.

Military spouse employees can help their peers stay grounded during times of uncertainty because they have naturally honed these skills through supporting their families and spouses. We are used to working hard without a great deal of recognition and definitely know how to stretch limited resources, whether it be time or money.

As a military spouse myself and a career coach for other military spouses, I know that we are huge assets to our organizations. We should be sought after and invested in because our hidden skillsets are so transferable across multiple industries. We provide depth, strength, and stability. After all, heaving dealt with deployments and relocations, the real question is: what can't we handle?

Krista Wells, Ph.D., professional speaker, writer, and a career coach, is The Military Spouse Coach®  Krista runs a career coaching private practice that guarantees you will find a career you love in just three  months, and works with the broader community of military spouses helping them find portable professionals they are passionate about; her former clients and colleagues rave about her work to boot. Listen to Krista's NEW weekly radio show, The Military Spouse Show: www.militaryspouseradio.com that airs on the Armed Forces Network.  Ready for career coaching, or interested in reaching out to Krista for your next spouse event?  Go to: www.militaryspousecoach.com for more information.

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