By Beth Cannon
One key truth about expectations is this: “If you can’t produce excellence, you cannot reproduce excellence,” as Marcus Buckingham wisely said in “First, Break All The Rules,” one of my all-time leadership books,
To foster excellence, it’s crucial to create career progression opportunities for those who earn it through their capabilities and the value they deliver. This means identifying potential leaders, investing in their development and implementing a clear path for growth within your organization.
Leadership development in Early Childhood Education (ECE) has a long way to go. Only 23% of leaders rate their leadership development as high quality, and just 27% of directors feel well-prepared to lead.
Alarmingly, 90% of directors were teachers before stepping into leadership roles, often without adequate training. Leadership development is a long-term strategy, but the reality is that many school leaders are bogged down by day-to-day responsibilities and can’t focus on growth.
The daily challenges in schools are numerous: managing payroll, paying bills, scheduling, billing, dealing with call-outs, handling subsidies, stocking supplies, marketing, and managing challenging behaviors from children, employees, and parents.
Add to this the complexity of compliance regulations, and it’s clear that school leaders juggle a lot.
Engagement is key to evolving your employees from simply being employed to being educated, engaged, and eventually evolved. When promotions are managed effectively, employees are five times more likely to believe their leaders act with integrity. They are six times more likely to excel when given opportunities to develop and use their strengths. Notably, 45% of professionals cite job satisfaction as their primary reason for accepting a leadership role. For more strategies, visit bethcannonspeaks.com/resources.
Growth within an organization can be a double-edged sword — some ride the wave while others get consumed by it.
Imagine the evolution of your org chart, from the director to assistant director, curriculum person, lead teacher, assistant teacher, and floater/cook/driver. It’s essential to differentiate levels of leadership from C-suite/executives to directors, recognizing their unique tasks, talents, time and titles.
Investing in your team isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a must. By identifying potential leaders, investing in their development and creating clear paths for growth, you set the stage for a thriving organization.
The best leaders are those who grow from within. Let’s turn potential into power and see your team —and your organization — soar!
For more tips and resources, visit bethcannonspeaks.com. And to learn more from Beth, watch her on-demand webinar with Procare Solutions on how to invest in your team’s leadership evolution. This webinar is designed specifically for child care leaders who are committed to building a robust leadership bench by growing and developing their talent!
