Individuals playing out these roles will often try to influence each other in a codependent manner, where one tries to control the other, either in an active or a more passive manner. Those who tend to dominate actively play the role of the manager; those who are more submissive tend to play the mother role.  In either case, the individuals are primarily focused on the other person in the interaction and not on themselves. Their manner of communication tends to be manipulative and often lacks honesty and transparency; it is primarily designed to control the other, either actively or passively.

It’s important to note that many of the individuals playing these roles are not fully conscious of the underlying motives of their own behaviors. It’s also important to remember that regardless of the type of relationship that two people may be engaged in or their respective genders, they are still able to play the mother or the manager roles in relationship to each other.

Many who’ve played these roles with others in the past are now looking for healthier ways to relate to the important people in their lives. This is especially true for those in younger generations. The Mother And The Manager documents how our traditional, inherited roles are undergoing profound and lasting changes, especially in recent decades.  It also reports  the changes we’ve experienced over the past fifty years, where women have become half of the working population and where dual income families are now the norm. Because of these changes, it’s quite common today for men and women to collaborate equally in fulfilling their family responsibilities on a daily basis.