Marcia Hebert's Blog

In these first days of the new school year, despite your skills, your abilities, and your successes as director, there will be problems. I like to call them situations. Situations that you will have to figure out, along with the decisions you will have to make, and the actions you will have to take. I used two strategies that worked!

Here is the first:

The key to solving problems is listening. It is the more important skill in effective communication. The fact that we have two ears but one mouth should give us a clue as to the importance of listening. Another clue is that the words “listen” and “silent” have the same letters. Hmm …

            Seek first to understand, and then, to be understood.

Listen first, then speak.

To become an effective listener, you must be fully present and focused only on listening to the other person. This is more difficult than it sounds. You must be silent while the other person speaks. This active listening works well. It lessens tension between the people engaged; it reduces mistakes and misunderstandings; and it does lead to problem solving. You are simply listening. You are listening to obtain information, to understand, and to learn.

So, listen fully—without interruption. Listen and wait for the other person to finish speaking. Then, ask relevant and clarifying questions, and listen once more. Listen for the main ideas. Don’t get lost in details and distractions and drama. Listen in order to understand the other person’s understanding, to hear questions, to provide guidance, and to move the process forward.

And, when you do speak, a warm supportive tone can set the stage for another formal or informal conversation. Choose your words carefully. Those who have expressed a concern, and feel they have been heard and understood will also be assured that you care.

And that is the ultimate message, isn’t it?

In October’s post, I’ll share my second strategy in problem solving—anticipate, hesitate, communicate, evaluate. I used this for 40 years with great success.

For more tips, techniques, and how-tos that worked for me, take a look at Beginning to End: The Life Cycle of a Child Care Center—A Director’s Story, at amazon.com books.

Your leadership style will play a role in creating a climate where people want to do their best.

I am a fan of MWA (management by walking around), a deliberate management strategy for keeping current with your team and their work. MWA takes the director into the classrooms to engage with the teachers and to observe all of the processes that keep the childcare center running. The director can see firsthand how everything is really going—what needs improvement, and what else teachers need in order to do their work effectively. These unplanned visits by the director are spontaneous, impromptu, and much-appreciated opportunities for each to get to know one another.

The director connects with each teacher informally, and listens, observes, recognizes, and assesses what’s happening in each of the classrooms—where the real work is taking place.

Teachers thrive when they receive meaningful feedback from their director about what they are doing, and how to further the vision of the program. They need from us an insightful observation of what we see, followed by a reflective conversation. “Good job” is just not enough.

Teachers will grow and develop when we create a climate where everyone participates and shares—teachable moments, delightful stories, ideas, questions, and thoughts. And teachers will want to do their best, because they are supported by an organization that sees their value, that appreciates what they have to offer, and that truly wants them to succeed beyond their wildest expectations!

And here might be tangible evidence of your vision! People come first. All are focused on the same goals. All are working toward the same vision. All continue to grow professionally. And the children thrive and develop in such an environment.

This new school year, give some thought to your leadership style. If mine resonates with you, take it for your own. It served me (and my children’s centers) well for forty years!

My very best to you this new school year!

For more tips, techniques, and how-tos that worked for me, take a look at Beginning to End: The Life Cycle of a Child Care Center—A Director’s Story, at amazon.com books.

Directors, how are you preparing for the next school year?

If you’ve read my previous blogs (scroll down to find them), you will have learned a few techniques that will keep you focused, keep you present, keep you calm during your very busy workdays. So, what else do you need to think about this summer to lead your early childhood program to success?

What is your vision of you in this leadership role? In what ways do you want to work with others; communicate; solve problems; make decisions? Just as you created a vision for your children’s center, for the children, for the parents, for your team, you will need to think about what is important to you.

As Director, write your vision of the best you! And then, read it frequently to keep you on track.

To get you started, I can share some of the things that were important to me in my director positions and what worked for me and for our programs.

As director, I set the course. I learned that how I began each first day was really important, that it set the tone for the whole year—where we were headed as an organization; what we would focus on this year; what expectations we were to meet; what goals we were to accomplish; and then, how. It was very important to think through all of these questions—and have the answers! I had the opportunity at the beginning of each school year to set our course, and communicate it to my team—and I took it!

I value quality and high standards. I believe that others do as well—and I found these people. I hired them. Yes, these people exist! And they want to work in this type of environment. They want to do their best. They are excited and upbeat. What they bring is contagious! If you have a core group of teachers who are outstanding as they work with children and parents, they will inspire and motivate others. It is an upward spiral—positive, professional, and fun! And you, the director, must observe often what and how they are doing—and offer feedback! You are part of the equation—you must be aware of everything happening in your program. Give people your time. For, how will you know if the quality and high standards are happening in every classroom unless you visit classrooms, sit in on team meetings, share successes with the entire staff? In other words, motivate and inspire.

I learned that people will rise to the challenge when the expectations are clearly articulated and when there is support to accomplish them. When people know what they need to do, and how, they will do it.

Which brings me back to the beginning, and to you.

As Director, you must know where you and your children’s center are going. Set the course.

How are you going to get there? What will get you there? What must you focus on this year? What expectations do you want to meet? What goals must you set and accomplish? Map it out. Think about the timeline and the route you’ll take to get there. 

For, how will you ever know you’ve arrived, if you don’t know where you are going?

• Be the leader. 
• Set your course.
• Lead by example.

Your team will follow your lead.

I wish you well on your adventure.

For more tips, techniques and how-tos that worked for me for forty years, take a look at Beginning to End:The Life Cycle of a Child Care Center—A Director’s Story, at amazon.com books.

I have two books to recommend to you!

The first was published a few years ago. Its title is Beginning to End: The Life Cycle of a Child Care Center—A Director’s Story.

Having opened four children’s centers during my career, and serving as Director of each (the last had two-hundred fulltime children, about four hundred parents, and a staff of sixty-five), I learned a lot about hiring, training, building a teaching team, creating environments for children, working with parents, and building an organization where teachers grew and young children thrived. I did it all. 

And then, for another decade, I consulted with other directors so they could build the best programs for their young children. I learned something from each experience I had and I wrote everything down for you, my younger colleagues. I created this blog, so you wouldn’t have to try, try, and try again. I had found the answers in my forty-year career and I was happy to share.

In Beginning to End, I have given you a roadmap to follow so that you, your teachers, your parents, and the children will grow and learn—optimally. It is filled with resources, how-tos, tools to use, experiences, and know-how—things I learned and used successfully along the way. This book presents me as the world saw me—my outer, more public life.

To help keep me evenly balanced and peaceful at work, in the face of the storms that sometimes occurred, I began to use several techniques and practices that helped me. And, little by little, unknowingly, I began to nurture an inner life within. This life, I kept to myself.

My second book, recently published, is The Way of the Elegant Spirit – The Journey Inward – A Book for Women. It presents the me that I have never shared—until now. 

It is the story that lives within all women as they begin the third passage of life. This book is a memoir, the adventure of my lifetime and the experiences that perfectly set my course. And it is a roadmap, a navigation tool for women of all ages—with stories, practices, how-tos, and resources—to assist as you travel this path. 

Along the way, I learned to believe in the unbelievable; to listen from within; and then, to act. The leaps of faith that I took were extraordinary, but everything somehow fit together perfectly in my life. This is my story, but it may well be every woman’s story. I share this part of me with you, so that you know what is coming and that you can embrace it as the gift it is meant to be.

These two books are truly “sister” books, though that thought never crossed my mind until I had read them, one after the other. They present the full picture of a woman’s life. They complement one another and they completed me—as a woman. Each book will provide a path for you to follow—at work and elsewhere. 

Enjoy both books!

Available on amazon.com Books