New Delhi, July 6 -- Have you ever spotted yourself assisting your reportee with a banal chore, while getting restless with your child attempting a knotty maths problem? Do you often check condoning your subordinate's blunders but fail to be amused by your ward's failed attempt towards novelty?

The modern workplace puts a premium on camaraderie, psychological safety and employee friendliness, often at the cost of a performance culture, standard setting and personal courage.

As a result, managers often get stuck between demanding excellence and being gentle, invoking the parent in them instead of the professional. Back home, the exhausted and hapless parent can't but chase efficiency and squares up tasks with a managerial flourish.

In a...