Leadership – it’s a natural skill for some, can be learned by most and is so important for the effectiveness of any team.
I recently returned from the USA and attended the Leadership Connections – National Leadership Conference. This event, run by the McCormick Centre for Early Childhood Leadership, specialises in bringing together leaders in early childhood education to inspire one another and build skills in a variety of sessions. The conference inspired everyone to consider how important leadership is when it comes to the success of any team.
Positive, strong and inspiring leaders and management are crucial to overcome the challenges facing many directors and principals every day. The conference highlighted the importance of providing opportunities for leaders to learn, grow and network.
Let’s explore the three main ways that good leadership can benefit your team – we’re considering the information from an early childhood education perspective, but realistically this applies to any team.
Effective leaders will empower the team to have their say, work together and identify ways to make everything more efficient and effective.
Systems and procedures can make life a lot easier, and leaders can ensure they are put in place and help teams to utilise them to everyone’s advantage. Tension in teams can be avoided with a central leader to guide everyone. Stress can’t be entirely avoided, but is only exacerbated when we are lacking direction – stability keeps a team feeling confident and better equipped to achieve goals.
Leaders are essential for setting and tracking goals. Without leaders to monitor progress and work with feedback from the team, goals can be forgotten and sometimes never achieved. With a leader who is working with the team to set and then plot out the path to achieve goals, amazing things can be achieved.
These are just a few of the points carried from my time at the Leadership Connections. To the entire team at McCormick Centre for Early Childhood Leadership, thank you for the warm reception and congratulations to you all on an outstanding conference. The venue and expo were exceptional, and I absolutely loved the structure of the conference. Such a unique opportunity to connect, support one another and share knowledge – and these are things we can all benefit from doing more of.
Take a look at photos from the Leadership Connections Chicago event here on Facebook.
If you’re a director or owner and you’re ready to empower your team and your centre, learn about our breakthrough formula here.
