Educators look to you, their leader, for guidance. If you are role modelling poor practices, this may become the standard that others begin to follow and accept as correct. You are being watched!

Remember to follow all service policies and procedures and ensure that you are LIVING your service philosophy.

Leading by example is a high expectation, but so important for quality education and care for children.

Professionalism
As mentioned in Section 1, there are many attributes that a leader possesses. Being professional is another critical attribute and one we want others to duplicate!

According to dictionary.com, professionalism most commonly means ‘the state or practice of doing one’s job with skill, competence, ethics, and courtesy.’ 

Early Childhood Australia has provided a document to support educators with their professional practices. ECA Code of Ethics: ECA-COE-Brochure-web-2019.pdf (earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au)

Some key aspects of professionalism include:

• Keeping confidentiality as appropriate, i.e. not gossiping
• Reflection and improvement
• Communication and collaboration
• Respecting and valuing others

Communication and having tough conversations
Communicating with your team each day regarding the children and their needs is an obvious requirement. You all need to have a clear idea of what is going to happen during the day and need to know if the families have communicated any specific information about their child. Finding a few moments to communicate this information is essential. Verbal communication is always best, but a notebook for jotting these notes into may also be useful and save any ‘forgetful’ moments.

As a leader, it is important to create a culture of feedback. You can achieve this by being open to your team giving you honest and constructive feedback. Reciprocal feedback is important, so also be prepared to give your team honest and constructive feedback. Giving feedback can be hard as people often take feedback personally and can react negatively. Reassure your team that feedback in never personal, it is always in the interests of improvement seeking higher quality.

Here are some conversation starters if you need to give feedback and are a little unsure how to start:

• ‘I’ve noticed that…’
• ‘I’m wondering…’
• ‘Talk me through…’

Leadership researcher/expert Brene Brown has created ‘Rumble Language’ – brief comments that get a conversation started when it’s tricky to do so, brene brown rumble starters – Bing images

If a member of your team has shown initiative, remember to thank them and acknowledge their contribution and ideas. Even if it wasn’t quite the right time for the contribution, give this feedback professionally and graciously. It is easy for staff to feel deflated and ‘why bother even trying.’ You want your team to feel that all contributions and efforts are welcome and appreciated.

A good leader will make sure to thank their team at the end of every day. A word of thanks goes a long way. Make sure hard work does not go unnoticed.