Reflective Leadership in Early Childhood
Leaders in the Early Childhood field work hard so that their program is one in which quality relationships characterized by trust, support, and growth exist among supervisors, staff, parents and children. These relationships form the foundation for all of the work that is done. Programs based on these beliefs and values can be thought of as relationship-based organizations.
Reflective leadership is key to creating a relationship-based organization. This reflective way of thinking can have advantages at every level of communication, and is not something that only administrators should consider. A reflective thinker is open to learning from experiences and trying new ideas. It is characterized by three important skills: self-awareness, careful observation, and flexible response.
Self-awareness refers to a leader's ability to know herself, her strengths, and her limitations. It implies that a leader is interested in, and committed to examining her own reactions, thoughts and feelings about the work.
Careful observation means that leaders are skilled at deciphering the meaning of what they are seeing and hearing. Leaders wonder about the meaning of their own and others' behavior, tones of voice, body language, or reactions. They ask themselves, "why might this be happening?" and solicit more information.
Flexible responses require that leaders know their staff; what their personal styles are, how they work best, and what motivates them. Leaders can then approach each professional in a way that reflects that particular person's needs, strengths, and areas for development. Flexible responses are the most basic and sometimes most difficult skill to master. A leader can exhibit this skill by expressing mutual respect in relationships. This includes our interactions and relationships with co-workers, parents, supervisors and children.
To learn more about reflective practices from Zero to Three , click the
link below:
Resource Zero to Three
