Q is for Qualities of an Effective Leader
I have written about leadership for many years and one thing is consistent, that despite the leadership fashions and fads almost all successful leaders draw on the same repertoire of basic leadership qualities and practices. Leadership acts as a catalyst unleashing the potential capacities that already exist in an organisation and without which other good things are quite unlikely to happen.
There is no doubt that ECEC leaders improve teaching and learning most powerfully through their influence on staff motivation, commitment, and working conditions. In Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), these are also the qualities that help ensure an effective and high quality ECEC service to children, staff, parents, and the wider community.
What do we mean by the term qualities? I am defining a quality as a characteristic, trait or attribute of leadership. It is linked to your values and what you believe matters. Interestingly, it is just a small handful of personal traits that explain a high proportion of the variation in leadership effectiveness which directly impacts on the service provided to your setting.
Let’s think about how we shape these qualities. A useful means of doing this would be to use the LEYF leadership hexagon and think about all the qualities you need to ensure that these are working.
Leading with a purpose to drive quality
- Build and articulate a collective vision that is shaping the present and creating the future.
- Develop a compassionate approach underpinned by clear and well-articulated values.
- Respond creatively and with innovation to continual change challenges presented by external economic, social and environmental factors and internal demands.
- Be present, know your staff, pay attention to what is happening.
- Be passionate for the work you do and show genuine enthusiasm and energy for the work and the people involved.
- Be humble, open, honest, accountable, responsible, optimistic, motivating, empowering and inspiring to build trust and reciprocity with staff.
- Be sensitive and tuned in to staff, children and parents.
- Keep an open mind and be ready to learn from others.
- Be flexible rather than dogmatic in your thinking.
- Set ambitious but realistic expectations for staff to motivate them to extend themselves.
- Make decisions that reflect ethical principles and values and promote fairness.
- Build your own and staff resilience.
- Ensure shared understandings, meanings and goals are communicated effectively.
- Manage the information flow across digital networks.
- Develop political awareness of the wider political issues that will limit, impact, or support your organisation.
- Be able and willing to create a positive well-organised stable work environment for staff including clarifying roles, setting objectives and ensuring they have fair pay and conditions and access to CPD and personal and professional development.
- Be efficient, well organised and instigate clear and fair processes and procedures that are well communicated.
- Managing conflict and team-building, encouraging delegation, consulting and networking.
- Build trusting and harmonious relationships
- Know how to support change.
- Support, model, demonstrate and articulate the complexity of the pedagogy and good practice in clear and understandable terms.
- Design and supporting the delivery of an interesting ad child-centred programme of learning including the daily routine which supports all areas of development (cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and language).
- Regularly observe and document children’s development to inform planning and identify any areas needing additional support.
- Monitor and assess and evaluate practice.
- Make the environment the third teacher.
- Create learning spaces which balance health and safety with interesting and challenging activities for the children and where they learn across the curriculum.
- Ensure children have access to healthy meals and snacks.
- Build and nurture harmonious relationships with parents.
- Maintain open, regular communication with parents about their child’s progress and any concerns.
- Encourage and facilitate parent partnership and build a (HLE) bridge.
- Encourage staff commitment and motivation by providing opportunities, praise and encouragement.
- Coach and mentor staff, apprentices and students.
- Role model how you want the staff to behave.
- Be willing and able to distribute leadership.
- Develop and model professional self-reflection
- Use performance management to support and extend staff confidence and competencies.
- Commit to ongoing, professional development and anchoring the learning in practice.
- Build a learning community culture.
- Seek and share new information. Attend conferences, become a voracious reader of books and raise your awareness of relevant programmes and podcasts.
- Contribute to strengthening local communities.
- Deliver a multi-generational approach in the setting.
- Encourage and facilitate community partnership.
In summary, this list looks a little overwhelming but that is probably because it might be the first time you actually list what you do every day and what qualities you bring to your job. The importance of leadership is highlighted, not least through the hexagon which highlights just how complex the role is and why ECEC staff should be placed on a leadership pedestal.
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About the Author
June is the CEO of the UK's foremost childcare social enterprise. She advocates for policies benefiting children and families, and has developed the LEYF Pedagogy for Social Justice. June received an MBE in 2013 and an OBE in 2023 for her services to education.