EARLY CHILDHOOD LEADERSHIP: MY LEADERSHIP PLAN
My Leadership Plan
After the exercises conducted in this course and having seen my past experiences in leading and the styles and strengths I have developed as a leader, in retrospect, this made me look back on what I wanted when I was younger. I realized that those were the things that I still want for myself as a leader. One of the goals I want to accomplish is applying and institutionalizing accountability. As the leader of my school, I want to be able to show my staff, the students, and my parents that I am capable of accomplishing the school’s mission, which is my primary accountability. Being accountable for such a task is an important responsibility, primarily, of mine, but of others, as well. Hence, in this process of realizing the school’s mission, I am also aiming to inspire them all to share this mission among themselves and to others. In this regard, I understand that accountability entails being a role model and being an ethical leader to the team. This means that I have to be willing to take full responsibility if my school’s mission, as a whole, and at a day-to-day basis, is not being met. I believe that I must lead through making decisions and conveying messages that are morally and legally sound in order to set an example.
My second goal is to be a motivational leader. My positive attitude and enthusiasm should be contagious so that my team is inspired to make our school’s mission as their own and work by my side to achieve it. I must also be able to encourage them to set their own personal and professional goals while working for the school’s cause, creating an enabling environment for them to grow, as well. A motivational leader recognizes individual uniqueness and self-worth that is why this is equally important. I will be able to realize this if I am visible and accessible to everyone through open communication and active listening, both vertically and horizontally in our team.
Lastly, my third leadership goal is to ensure that our school’s programs, curriculum and methods of instruction address individual interests and needs of the large and diverse group of students. These should be implemented with quality through regular feedback gathering and ensuring that these programs and academic materials are developed accordingly. They should be able to respond to the needs of the students to ascertain their success in life in the future. The students’ professional development is our primary objective in my schools; hence, it is imperative that, as a leader, I must be able to inspire the teachers to continue to learn and grow, too, as they are their students’ role models and leaders.
Another resource I can use is actual participation and observation in organizations and/or other schools through collaborative exchanges or volunteer work. Through actual experience, I would be able to see other leaders in action, learn from their day-to-day activities, see their styles and techniques, and develop myself through their example. I looked into VSO International and saw their program on volunteering, sending professionals who volunteer to developing countries to contribute to development projects based on their expertise. Through this program and the experience, I will be able to widen my perspective of the world, of society, and will help develop my emotional intelligence as a leader. Experiencing other countries and cultures develops and nurtures tolerance, understanding, sensitivity, and awareness about other people and their ways of working.
I could solicit the help of older and more experienced volunteers and / or program managers to mentor me on my leadership development program. I can directly learn from them on how schools are ran and managed from their experiences—what resources are needed, how to motivate teachers and colleagues, and maintain everyone’s active participation in the continuous development process in organizations and institutions. I could also solicit the help of other school leaders I know. As part of our school’s feedback mechanism, I could invite these other school leaders and show them how we operate and gather their comments and recommendations. I would solicit the help of those who have available time, to guide me in my process of enhancing my leadership skills and methodologies and learn from their wisdom.
In addition, I could also ask for mentorship from my father, who has a leadership role in his own group. I have seen how he worked with professionals and different kinds of people. I saw his charisma, his amicable ways in dealing with people, but with a certain firmness that makes them do the tasks with a smile on their faces. He served as my inspiration in taking on leadership responsibilities even in my earlier years of life. I have seen how my father took responsibility for everything his group did, whether the results were good or bad.
In return, I can begin mentoring interested members of our team who have the same leadership aspirations as mine. I can start mentoring them on the basic concepts and skills of leadership such as communication, decision making, time management, and stress management. I think I can mentor them in these areas, because the principles and practices have been taught to me at home and in school and I have been able to apply them in both environments, as well. In addition, not long ago, I was also in their age. It’s not saying that I know better now, but there are simple things that a person can share with young professionals who are eager and willing to learn and further develop themselves to get through adult life and to make better choices. These simple principles and applications of communication, decision making, time management, and stress management can help them manage students and their classes well, including their personal lives, vis-à-vis their professional lives.
Bibliography
(ECEBC) Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia. (2007, November). Models of Early Childhood Leadership. Retrieved June 2014, from (ECEBC) Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia: http://www.ecebc.ca/leadership/files/ECE_Framework_Prof_Leadership.pdf
VSO International. (n.d.). VSO International: Volunteer. Retrieved June 2014, from VSO International: http://www.vsointernational.org/volunteer/
MindTools. (n.d.). About the Club. Retrieved June 2014, from MindTools: http://www.mindtools.com
ToastMasters International. (n.d.). Welcome to Toastmasters International. Retrieved June 2014, from ToastMasters International: http://www.toastmasters.org
ToastMasters International. (2011). Mentoring. Retrieved June 2014, from ToastMasters International: http://www.d25toastmasters.org/resources/files/296AMentoringInteractive.pdf
