5 Onboarding Lessons You’ll Only Learn from Raising a Child

There’s a strange parallel I’ve come to appreciate after spending years building and leading teams — and becoming a father.

Raising a child and onboarding a new employee might seem like completely different worlds. One is deeply emotional and personal; the other is strategic and operational. But when you look beneath the surface, the similarities are impossible to ignore — and they reveal why most onboarding processes fail.

The truth is this: onboarding isn’t a 2-week orientation or a 3-month probation period. It’s a progressive learning journey — just like parenting.

Let me explain.

Lesson 1 – Walking Isn’t the Finish Line (It’s the Beginning)

Any parent will tell you that teaching a child to walk is exciting… but it’s hardly the end of your responsibilities. Once they walk, they start running. When they run, they fall. When they fall, you guide them. That cycle never ends.

Yet in business, we often assume that once a new hire “knows the basics,” they’re done.

They’re not.

They’ve just learned to walk. And if you don’t guide them through the next stages (creativity, autonomy, nuance), they’ll keep falling — and eventually leave.

Lesson 2 – Each New Skill Needs Its Own Onboarding

Children don’t magically “upgrade” into new abilities. Walking is a different skill than riding a bike. Riding a bike is different from driving a car. Every transition has its own learning curve; and you, as the parent, provide different support at each level.

Your employees are no different.

Mastering the basic job function is one phase. But learning how to use a new AI tool effectively? That’s a new phase. Building external relationships and representing the company publicly? Another phase.

Each milestone deserves its own onboarding framework. If you don’t provide one, you’re basically handing them the keys to a car and hoping for the best.

Lesson 3 – Context Beats Instructions

When teaching a child, you don’t just say “Here’s a bicycle — ride it.” You run beside them. You help them understand why balance matters, when to brake, and what to do if they fall.

That level of context is what turns instruction into capability.

The same applies at work. A checklist of SOPs is not enough. Show them why this customer prefers certain communication. Explain why this reporting format exists. Don’t just give rules — give context. People onboard faster when they understand the why behind the what.

Lesson 4 – Emotional Safety Accelerates Competence

A child won’t try something new unless they feel safe. That safety is created by proximity, feedback, and consistent support. New hires are no different.

Think about how many talented people underperform simply because they’re afraid to ask questions. Or because no one is checking in with them. Too many leaders assume silence = confidence, when in reality silence often = anxiety.

Weekly check-ins (even short ones) matter. Coaching conversations matter. Emotional support isn’t a “soft” benefit — it’s a performance accelerator.

Lesson 5 – Onboarding Never Ends (It Just Evolves)

Parenting doesn’t stop after the first few months; it just changes depending on your child’s stage of development.

Same with onboarding.

Every time you elevate someone, shift their role, or increase their responsibility, you start a new onboarding cycle. And if you don’t intentionally guide that transition, you risk turning progress into disengagement.

It’s not “onboarding, then done.”It’s onboarding, evolving, onboarding again.

Onboarding ends when the student becomes the teacher.

If you approach onboarding the same way you approach parenting — as a long-term, evolving journey with structured milestones, contextual guidance, and emotional safety — your people don’t just stay. They grow.

That’s exactly why we’ve designed our Executive Search and RPO services at SpartanSC.co around this principle.

We don’t just “fill a role.” We start at job evaluation, align the leader’s mandate with your organization’s culture and strategy, and then support both the new hire and the hiring manager every week throughout the first 90 days; coaching, aligning expectations, and proactively addressing friction before it becomes a turnover risk.

It’s onboarding done like parenting: intentional, phased, and human.

If you’re serious about reducing the risk of failed leadership hires (especially in finance, FinTech, or highly specialized roles), let’s talk.

Because great employees don’t “start” on day one; they evolve into greatness over time. Signing off, Leo Khoury, ECRE, CHRE Founder & Principal Advisor at SpartanSC.co