A common skill required among the many leadership and management roles in early childhood education is the ability to help people work together professionally, collaboratively and with a positive work ethic. Leaders often struggle with getting members of teaching teams to get along, engage adult learners in evaluation and growth processes, and establish a shared vision among a large program. While leaders in ECE receive significant knowledge and guidance through formal education and ongoing professional development on topics including child care administration, program management, adult learning styles, how to give feedback, and so on, there often remain unanswered questions to successful leadership. How do we get early childhood educators to work together positively and productively? How do we remedy a negative atmosphere in a school? What do we do when there is tension among staff and teachers? This article is a guide through field-tested strategies to help early childhood professionals work better together through examining organizational culture, establishing a shared vision, reflecting on leadership practices, considering external factors impacting teacher engagement, and implementing concrete action steps to address tension. 

How Do You Want to be Remembered?

Start by considering leaders you have worked with in the past. Make a list of words or phrases you’d use to describe the worst leader you have ever had. Take a hard look at that list. Do any of these traits describe who you are as a leader? (It is okay, we all make mistakes!) Think for a moment about what you do when you behave in a way that does not match your goals as a leader. Hold on to this for later. Now, make a list of words or phrases you would use to describe the best leader you have ever met. Take a look at this list. Circle one or two words from this list that you would want people to use to describe you as a leader. Post this where you can see it every day. As you work through the process of modifying your organizational culture and supporting your teachers in working better together, this will help you maintain a focus on your leadership values and goals. In addition, share these words with the people you lead. Regularly aligning your actions with your goal and with transparency will ensure a focused process and will also model your commitment to improve your own practice as a leader. 

Establish a Common Language 

In order for groups to work together successfully, there needs to be a common language or shared vision about the work being done. This has multiple components: clear job descriptions, an organization mission or strategic direction, and professional standards. Clear job descriptions should be provided at the time of hiring, available to the entire organization, periodically adjusted as needed, and should take into consideration individual goals. A strong mission or strategic direction is developed with input from all parties, used to center conversations, and inform decision making. When there are opportunities to contribute to the development of a mission or strategic direction, and frequent attention to short- and long-term goals, there will be greater investment and accountability.

A component of this statement should include practices around professional engagement, reinforced by integrating existing standards for professionals such as the National Association for Education of Young Children Code of Ethical Conduct (2011). Clarity around roles, organizational goals and professionalism help teachers align their actions and goals to a shared set of ideals. In contrast, when assumptions are made about the work or how it is going to be done, this can be damaging to the organizational culture.

Examine Your Organizational or Group Culture 

Upon incorporation of a mission and or strategic direction, it is necessary to make connections to everyday practices. Beyond the formal language of a statement, we must be attentive to how it is perceived and implemented.

“Organizational climate is the staff’s collective perceptions of what the organization is like in terms of polices, practices, procedures and routines” (Bloom & Abel, 2015). First, consider that a program leader makes an impact on each and every classroom (indirect) versus teachers who only impact one classroom (direct). This has two implications—teachers in their individual classrooms have a more significant, direct impact on each other, children and families, but the impact is more confined to an isolated environment. Second, a leader’s impact is indirect but impacts the entire program; the tone a leader models and sets in regard to organizational ideas and practices is pervasive. Therefore, it is necessary to engage in reflective self-awareness. For both leaders and teachers, it can be meaningful to build understanding through exploring various personality assessments such as True Colors, 16 personalities, or Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinder 2.0. These tests provoke conversations that can lead to open dialogue about strengths, contributions and opportunities for growth. Beyond strengths and personality differences, there are additional factors that contribute to teachers’ attitudes toward their work, specifically factors related to one’s individual wellbeing. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Basic unmet needs result in reduced commitment and motivation. Here are some facts to consider, unique to the education workforce. In 2015, 46 percent of child care workers were enrolled in public safety net programs (Paquette, 2016). Likewise, in the same year, only 15 percent of child care workers received health insurance (Gould, 2015). The implications of these factors are amplified by typical salaries in our field. Consider the federal poverty level in 2018 for a family of four was $25,100; for a family of five it was $29,420 (www.familiesusa.org). Now compare this to the national mean salaries for early childhood educators in 2017: $19,000 for a child care worker and $28,900 for a preschool teacher (www.bls.gov).

While many families survive on dual incomes, this is not possible for all families. We know there is work to do in professionalizing our field, including advocating for livable wages across the board. In the meantime, leaders need to take these risk factors into consideration and identify ways to offset stress on teachers, such as including meals at meetings/trainings, providing plenty of paid sick/vacation days, allowing flexible schedules to care for family members, and brainstorming with teachers about how to minimize stress related to these factors. General acknowledgement of challenges and willingness to offer reasonable support can go a long way toward maintaining positive attitudes and the overall strength of the organizational culture. 

Focus on Leadership Practices

Maintaining high expectations is best achieved through modeling actions leaders want to see from teachers. This is a good time to review your list of words and phrases that described the worst/best leaders you have had. Is your behavior aligning with your personal goals, and what example are you setting for your teachers? In addition to reflection on the traits you want to embody, modeling includes transparency, honesty, engaging in conflict resolution, and committing to growth and development plans. Establish consistent, transparent procedures for how decisions and conflicts are going to be handled by determining who will be involved and what resources will be used to problem solve. Create an environment that embraces complaints as an honest opportunity to value all perspectives and promote growth.

“Complaints provide direction for exploring what is not working and what can be done differently” (Bella, 2015). Engage in regular, ongoing individual growth and development plans and remember these are not one-size-fits-all; each person needs a plan unique to their interests and abilities. When necessary, create team action plans and allow teams to brainstorm and produce solutions together. This collaborative process increases the likelihood that teachers will remain committed to and focused on goals. The common remedy for struggling teams—teambuilding activities—are important too, but remember these other ingredients have to be in place first. Playful activities to get to know each other are not as meaningful or effective if there is underlying tension. 

Have the Hard Conversations

First, consider the type of conversation you are having—are you merely asking clarifying question? Does everyone know what is expected of them? “Often times we think we are on the same page yet clarification has not happened” (Abrams, 2016). Clarification can reduce tension and minimize unnecessary difficult conversations. When clarity has been provided, yet a difficult conversation is still necessary, keep focused on the impact on children and families. In addition, when it is necessary to have a discussion with a staff member about his or her performance, be sure to ask for contributions, but also bring your own potential ideas for solutions. This keeps the discussion solution-focused and moving forward. When conflicts arise between team members, use conflict resolution steps such as these from the American Management Association (2010):

1. Identify the source of the conflict
2. Look beyond the incident
3. Request solutions
4. Identify solutions both disputants can support
5. Agreement

Using these steps consistently allows people to trust the process and know what to expect. Again, it is essential to request contributions from all people involved. This produces ownership in the outcome and empowerment to resolve conflicts more independently in the future. With clear methods in place for addressing challenges, the overall organizational culture can be protected from unnecessary lingering tension. 

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind that organizational culture is not fixed! Despite our best intentions as leaders, we often get used to the ways things are and overlook subtle changes that occur gradually. When we think we understand something, we forget to pay attention to differences, changes and slow forward progress by relying on the same old strategies. This requires re-engaging in the above steps on a regular basis. Consider it akin to a routine check-up with your doctor or dentist. Those preventative measures can reduce a lot of pain and work in the long run. By regularly using tools and strategies for establishing a culture of professionalism, collaboration, and positive work ethic, we can engage in more productive, responsive group work, therefore providing better care for our children and families.

References

Abrams, J. (2016). 4 Key Questions to Ask Before Having a Hard Conversation. McCormick Center for Early Childhood Education Leadership. Chicago, IL. 

AMA (2010). The Five Steps to Conflict Resolution. American Management Association. Retrieved from https://www.amanet.org/training/articles/printversion/the-five-steps-to-conflict-resolution.aspx 

Bella, J. (2015). Thanks for Complaining: Appreciating Feedback as an Opportunity for Growth. McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. Chicago, IL. 

Bloom, P.J. & Abel, M.B. (2015). Expanding the Lens—Leadership as an Organizational Asset. Young Children. NAEYC; Washington, D.C. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Preschool Teachers. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/preschool-teachers.htm.

Gould, E. (2015). Child Care Workers Aren’t Paid Enough to Make Ends Meet. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://www.epi.org/publication/child-care-workers-arent-paid-enough-to-make-ends-meet/ 

Families USA. (2019). Federal Poverty Guidelines. Retrieved from https://familiesusa.org/product/
federal-poverty-guidelines. 

NAEYC. (2011). Code of Ethical Conduct. National Association for the Education Young Children. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/
position-statements/ethical-conduct 

Paquette, D. (2015). Half of America’s childcare workers need food stamps, welfare payments, or Medicaid”. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/11/the-people-taking-care-of-our-kids-live-in-poverty/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fe667e394419