The Father Factor: How Your Father's Legacy Impacts Your Career [Paperback]

Stephan B. Poulter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2006

Does your career seem to be stalled or headed down a dead end street? Do you have frequent problems interacting with subordinates, bosses, or fellow employees? Do 'gender issues' seem to interfere with your day-to-day work? Do you feel that your efforts go unnoticed by the 'higher ups'? Do you secretly want a different career? These and other types of seemingly endless interpersonal work issues, struggles, and challenges in your career can be directly connected to what respected psychologist Stephan B Poulter calls the 'father factor'.The father factor is the conscious understanding, awareness, and appreciation of the critical influence that your father had, still has, or could have in your career development and future potential. Noting that the father-son or father-daughter relationship is one of the least understood relationships in adult life, Dr Poulter helps you become acutely aware of the immeasurable impact (negative or positive) that your father has on your ability to relate to other people. From this recognition you will also learn to move past the career roadblocks that frequently stem from the lingering effects of your father's influence.Defining five main styles of fathering, Dr Poulter devotes a chapter each to: The Superachiever Father; The Time Bomb Father; The Passive Father; The Absent Father (whether physically or emotionally) and The Compassionate /Mentor Father. By becoming aware of how your father related to you, particularly in a destructive relationship, you will understand how your career relationships in many ways mirror your degree of comfort with your father's emotional legacy. In this way, career roadblocks - often based on interactions with people on the job - will be more easily transformed into career building blocks that will lead to advancement and success.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Aimed at both men and women, Poulter's insightful guide looks at the lasting influence of your father's parenting style on your career direction and development as well as professional relationships. Still, clinical psychiatrist Poulter (Father Your Son) insists, "You hold the keys to your future, not your father." Beginning with an analysis of why your father has an impact on what you do and how you do it, Poulter outlines five major father types, including the "Superachiever," "Time Bomb," "Passive," "Absent" and "Compassionate/Mentor." The author provides questionnaires for identifying your father's type and addresses how to counteract his potentially negative impact. Poulter considers telltale signs that you may have adopted your father's management strategies and offers counsel on being more introspective about your own behavior toward people in authority at work and even in your personal life. This book contains helpful advice for any professional who has had a difficult relationship with his or her father and wants to avoid a repetitive legacy. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"[A] wonderfully readable and insightful roadmap to overcoming the workplace and career obstacles..." -- Eileen Gallo, Ph.D., co-author of Silver Spoon Kids and The Financially Intelligent Parent.

"[A]n invaluable contribution to the oft-neglected role of fathers in our relational and professional development." -- Debra Brause, PsyD, Psychotherapist, Los Angeles, CA

"[N]ot only for those trying to achieve career success, but also for manager/mentors trying to encourage others in their careers." -- Jean M. Clark, Executive, Investment Management Firm

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 239 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (May 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591024102
• ISBN-13: 978-1591024101
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #873,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Daddy Dearest, July 3, 2006

By 

M. R. Estante "book reader" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Father Factor: How Your Father's Legacy Impacts Your Career (Paperback)

This is a WOW of a book. Fathers are the stereotypical breadwinners in the household. How are father's careers evolve infuence how ours do as well. We become our parents patterns if we are not careful. For women, this is especially poignant, and for those of us whose fathers demanded results-oriented performance .... looking back ... it really was a blessing in disguise. Kudos to all the men who pushed their daughters to succeed and fobade them to date in childhood.

This is further evidence that the phrase "the apple does not fall far from the tree" has truth to it. Although we can't blame our parents forever, being in denial is equally disempowering. By the time we are five years old a good 90% of our personalities are formed based on our observations of mom and dad, our genetic tendencies of temperament, and imprinted memories of childhood already experienced thus far. People are a product of their DNA and upbringing. While our DNA is beyond our control, the negative behavior patterns of our primary caregivers and their impact on us as adults is something we can address. Fathers teach children how to operate in the world of work, handle authority, and problem solve while managing emotions. If we are imprinted by a paternal role model that does not serve our career interests then we have the choice as adults to "overwrite" the program. It doesn't happen overnight but recovering from the effects will happen once the problem is isolated and then addressed properly. One key factor is to not do this alone. Friends are great but this kind of emotional disconnection requires professional assistance. One program that has been known to accomplish this is The Hoffman Process which calls such experiences of parental imprinting and modeling "the Negative Love Syndrome". And the way to disconnect does lie in empathy and forgiveness AFTER healing through the pain of a negative pattern legacy in the first place.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars father factor review, February 20, 2007

By 

Irene L. Larochelle "I. LaRochelle" (N. Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Father Factor: How Your Father's Legacy Impacts Your Career (Paperback)

This is a very intense book requiring a lot of self honesty and much self reflection. However, I highly recommend it for any man or woman who experiences a lot of anger and frustration related to career and "father" issues that they just can't resolve.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A father is key to understanding choices and roadblocks in a career, September 9, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Father Factor: How Your Father's Legacy Impacts Your Career (Paperback)

The Father Factor: How Your Father's Legacy Impacts Your Career comes from a psychologist who maintains the influence of a father is key to understanding choices and roadblocks in a career. Both positive and negative impacts are surveyed, from a passive or absent father's influence to understanding how destructive messages translate into workforce action or inaction. The 'what you can do about it' section is critical for change and a successful career approach.