Orientation and Leadership Dynamics

DIRECTORS TRAINING Leadership Module Session Two: Leading and Managing

ENHANCING LEADERSHIP AND EARLY LEARNING SERVICES (ELELS) The overarching goal of the ELELS series is to enhance early care and learning directors knowledge and skill of effective leadership strategies associated with promoting school readiness for young children. The ELELS series consists of three connected modules, Leadership, Center Environment, and Instructional Alignment; a support module, Family Engagement (integrated into ELELS but can be delivered as a stand-alone module); and one stand-alone module, Business Practices. The bolded module and session title indicates the specific content for this session as well as where this session fits in the flow of the ELELS series. MODULE LEADERSHIP CENTER ENVIRONMENT INSTRUCTIONAL ALIGNMENT FAMILY ENGAGEMENT BUSINESS PRACTICES SESSION Orientation and Leadership Dynamics Leading L and Managing On a Mission with a Vision Conflict Resolution High-Quality Preschools Classroom Climate Instructional Climate Instructional Tools Instructional Interactions Instructional Improvement Assessment of Young Children Instruction Informed by Assessment Instructional Diversity Strategies to Increase Family Engagement Business Development and Financial Literacy Services Objectives: o Expand directors understanding of the relationship of leadership style to decisions made. o Understand that managing and leading require different skills and address different tasks. Big Ideas: o There are many kinds of leadership (e.g., learner-centered, pedagogical, instructional, facilitative, transformational, participatory, situational). o Leading is dependent on the leadership style that works best for the leader. o Leaders manage many tasks. Essential Questions: o What is the meaning of leadership? o Why is leadership important to organization success? o What do leaders do to create a learning organization focused on improving student achievement? 2

Directors Will Know: o The differences between leading and managing organizations. o What leadership style works best for them (or they might want to change.) Directors Will Be Able to: o Distinguish between managing daily operations and leading organization beyond the status quo. o Understand that culture, diversity, values, vision, communication, social skills, and interpersonal skills influence how they lead. Evidence Objective Is Met: o IN-SESSION (Completed Leader vs. Manager activity sheet): Identify specific characteristics of leaders and managers, compare and contrast the two, and analyze the characteristics in him/herself as a leader. o JOB-EMBEDDED ASSIGNMENT (Completed Roles and Responsibilities activity sheet): Identify the roles and responsibilities that are required to fulfill the role of leader in an effective, high-quality early childcare setting. 3

Session Outline with Materials List (BOLD ITEMS ARE PROVIDED WITH THE TRAINING MODULE) Length/ Format 10 minutes/ individual, partner 5 minutes/ 10 minutes/ interactive Activity Title Gather and Focus: What s on Your Mind? Session Agenda: What Are We Going to Do? Reflection: What Type of Leader Are You? Materials Needed for Activity Per Director: What s on Your Mind? activity sheet Pen or pencil None needed T poster M poster C poster Tape 20 minutes/ 25 minutes/ small group, 30 minutes/ small group, 5 minutes/ Activity #1: Leadership Assessment Guide Scoring Activity #2: Leader vs. Manager Activity #3: Learning to Lead Review: Roles and Responsibilities Per Director: Completed Leadership Assessment Guide activity sheet Three Types of Leaders handout Pen or pencil Chart paper Chart markers Per Small Group: Leadership vs. Management activity sheet Leader vs. Manager word cards (Create Leader vs. Manager word cards by cutting apart the words on the Leader vs. Manager Answer handout) Per Director: Leader vs. Manager Answer handout Per Director: Learning to Lead (ISBN 1-929610-33-5) Learning to Lead activity sheet Pen or pencil Per Director: Roles and Responsibilities activity sheet 4

PROCEDURES Gather and Focus: What s on Your Mind? Time: 10 minutes Format: individual, partner Note for Facilitator: Give each director an activity sheet as he/she arrives. This activity is designed for the first 10 minutes of the session. Materials: Per Director: What s on Your Mind? activity sheet, pen or pencil (Individual) 1. Give each director a What s on Your Mind? activity sheet and a pen or pencil. 2. Instruct the directors to read the directions which state they should list 3-5 things that have been on their mind lately that are related to their work as a leader. (Partner) 3. As the directors complete the What s on Your Mind? activity sheet, tell them to meet with one other director and discuss what has been on their minds lately. 4. Instruct the directors to discuss how their role as the leader of the center impacted their involvement in the situation noted on the activity sheet. Session Agenda: What Are We Going to Do? Time: 5 minutes Format: Note for Facilitator: Use this time to inform the directors of today s topic. Materials: none needed 1. Let the directors know that their time in today s session will be spent analyzing what it takes to be a great leader. 2. Inform the directors that they will begin by thinking about choices they would make as leaders and how those choices help identify their leadership styles. 3. Tell the directors they will then score their Leadership Assessment Guide to see what it all means. 4. Say, Then you will be asked to brainstorm similarities and differences between leaders and managers and look specifically at how leaders encounter and deal with culture, diversity, values, vision, communication, and social and interpersonal skills. 5

Reflection: What Type of Leader Are You? Time: 10 minutes Format: interactive Note for Facilitator: Hang up the T, M, and C posters in different parts of the room prior to beginning the session. Materials: T poster, M poster, C poster, tape 1. Tell the directors they will need their Leadership Assessment Guide activity sheet in a few minutes but first you are going to do an interactive activity with them to get them thinking about their leadership style. 2. Point out that there are three posters hanging in the room a T poster, an M poster, and a C poster. 3. Explain that you are going to describe characteristics that reflect three different leadership styles T, M, or C. 4. Tell the directors that when you describe a characteristic that best matches them, they should move to that poster T, M, or C. 5. Point out to the directors that they may change their mind as they hear the different characteristics described. 6. Ask the directors to stand as you call out the characteristics below: a. Move to the T poster if you work hard and believe your staff needs supervision. b. Move to the M poster if you work hard and believe your staff is naturally inclined to work hard if they are committed to their work. c. Move to the C poster if you work hard and believe teachers work best when they are happy and friendly. 7. After the directors have all moved to a poster, ask the following questions and allow the directors to respond: a. Are you all standing in the same place as each other? b. Did you have a tough time choosing one characteristic over another or was it an easy choice? c. Now let s do it again. 8. Call out the characteristics below: a. Move to the T poster if you control teachers behaviors through rules and notices. 6

b. Move to the M poster if you encourage staff to exercise self-control over their own performance. c. Move to the C poster if you seek to encourage proper behavior through friendly persuasion. 9. After the directors have all moved to a poster, ask, Are you all standing in the same place as each other? 10. Tell the directors this is the last one. Call out the characteristics below: a. Move to the T poster if you address center problems decisively and swiftly and generally do not solicit advice from teachers in dealing with these problems. b. Move to the M poster if you address center problems promptly and decisively, and utilize the knowledge and skills of all staff members in solving these problems. c. Move to the C poster if you discuss center problems with teachers and actively seek their advice but do not always act decisively. 11. Tell the directors that the T, M, and C stand for a type of leader that will be revealed shortly. 12. Ask the directors to return to their seats and write down on a scrap piece of paper the letter of the posters they stood in front of during this activity. Activity #1: Leadership Assessment Guide Scoring Time: 20 minutes Format: Note for Facilitator: Allow directors who have not done so yet to complete their Leadership Assessment Guide. Materials: Per Director: Completed Leadership Assessment Guide activity sheet, Three Types of Leaders handout, pen or pencil 1. Ask the directors to take out their completed Leadership Assessment Guide activity sheet (completed as job-embedded assignment) and give them a pen or pencil. 2. If a director was not in attendance at the last session, give him/her a Leadership Assessment Guide activity sheet to complete. 3. Guide the directors through the scoring procedure by telling them to: a. Write your ratings for all odd numbered elements on the Results line. b. Write your ratings for all even numbered elements on the Relations line. 7

c. Add up the ratings on the Results line and the ratings on the Relations line. 4. Tell the directors that they can now find out what type of leader they are based on these results because the characteristics define their style. 5. Give each director a Three Types of Leaders handout and point out that the three types of leaders are Task Master, Motivator, and Comrade. 6. Ask a director to read the Task Master portion of the Three Types of Leaders handout. 7. Inform the directors that they are a Task Master if their Results score was 32-63 and their Relations score was 0-31. 8. Ask a director to read the Motivator portion of the Three Types of Leaders handout. 9. Inform the directors they are a Motivator if both their Results and Relations score was 32-63. 10. Ask a director to read the Comrade portion of the Three Types of Leaders handout. 11. Inform the directors they are a Comrade if their Results score was 0-31 and their Relations score was 32-63. 12. If a director has both Relations and Results scores that fall between 0-31 encourage them to work with their staff to examine and improve both the results and relations in their center. 13. Tell the directors that the characteristics used in the Gather and Focus activity where they chose to move to the T, M, or C poster were from this handout. 14. Ask the following questions to encourage discussion among the directors: a. Does your self-perception match the self-assessment? What are the implications if you matched? If you didn t match? b. What implications are there for interactions with staff, children, and families? c. If your staff were to assess you using the Leadership Assessment Guide, would your results be the same? d. Are there some areas that you would like to change for personal growth and improvement? 8

Activity #2: Leader vs. Manager Time: 25 minutes Format: small group, Note for Facilitator: Create Leader vs. Manager word cards by cutting apart the words on the Leader vs. Manager Answer handout. Opinions may differ. The important point to make is that leading and managing are two different tasks and have different purposes. Materials: chart paper, chart markers; Per Small Group: Leadership vs. Management activity sheet, Leader vs. Manager word cards; Per Director: Leader vs. Manager Answer handout (8 minutes ) 1. Write the word LEADERS on the top of a piece of chart paper and ask, What do leaders do? 2. Chart responses given by the directors. 3. Write the word MANAGERS on the top of a second piece of chart paper and ask, What do managers do? 4. Chart responses given by the directors. 5. Ask the following questions to help the directors come to the conclusion that leaders lead people and managers manage things. a. What common strands do you notice in each list? b. What do you notice as significant differences between the two lists? c. Which list do you see affecting people more? (10 minutes small group) 6. Ask the directors to get into small groups of 3. 7. Give each small group a Leadership vs. Management activity sheet and Leader vs. Manager word cards. 8. In groups of 3, ask the directors to sort/place each word card in either the leadership or management column on the Leadership vs. Management activity sheet. 9. Allow the directors to work on the sorting activity for 6 minutes. 10. After 6 minutes, give each director a Leader vs. Manager Answer handout. 11. Review the correct categorization together. 9

(7 minutes ) 12. Engage directors in a discussion of the traits of a leader and a manager comparing the charted responses to What do leaders/managers do? with those on the sorted word cards by asking questions such as: a. What similarities do you see in our charted list of leader descriptions and the sorted word cards for a leader? b. What similarities do you see in our charted list of manager descriptions and the sorted word cards for a manager? 13. Tell the directors to remember leaders lead people and managers manage things in the training as well as in their work at the center. Activity #3: Learning to Lead Time: 30 minutes Format: small group, Note for Facilitator: Familiarize yourself with the content in chapter 3 of Learning to Lead prior to engaging in this activity. Materials: Per Director: Learning to Lead, Learning to Lead activity sheet, pen or pencil (6 minutes - ) 1. Give each director a copy of the Learning to Lead book, a Learning to Lead activity sheet (all 4 pages), and a pen or pencil. 2. Tell the directors to count off 1, 2, 3, and 4 to get into 4 groups. 3. Ask the directors to move into their four groups in different areas of the room. 4. Assign each group a segment of chapter 3 to read. a. Group 1: Culture and Diversity, pages 59-66 b. Group 2: Values, pages 67-70 c. Group 3: Vision, pages 71-76 d. Group 4: Communication, Social, and Interpersonal Skills, pages 76-82 5. Tell each group to select one person to facilitate the discussion (the leader), another person to take notes on the Learning to Lead activity sheet specific to their assigned portion of text, and another person to serve as presenter of findings to the. (14 minutes small group) 6. Ask the directors to read their assigned segment of Learning to Lead. 10

7. Ask each group to use the Learning to Lead activity sheet to take notes on the major points and implications related to their centers in preparation for presenting to the. 8. Float from group to group providing support and guidance as needed to the leader of the group. (10 minutes ) 9. Give each group 2 minutes to share their main topics and discuss how directors might encounter and respond to each of the key areas: culture and diversity, values, vision, communication, social, and interpersonal skills. 10. Ask directors to share with a partner one idea and strategy they would like to address at their center. 11. Wrap up the discussion by encouraging directors to identify one of the areas discussed today and address it at their center. 12. Ask two volunteers to tell how they might address a topic at their center. Review: Roles and Responsibilities Time: 5 minutes Format: Note for Facilitator: If a director is absent for this session, it will be helpful if this assignment is mailed to them. Materials: Per Director: Roles and Responsibilities activity sheet 1. Point out to the directors that they have reviewed and hopefully even learned a lot about leadership today. 2. Tell them that as leaders in their centers, they take on a variety of roles and responsibilities. 3. Give each director a Roles and Responsibilities activity sheet and tell them this is their job-embedded assignment for the week and will be used in the next session. 4. Read the instructions for the task aloud (During the next session of ELELS Directors Training you will be asked to do an activity concerning your Roles and Responsibilities. Please list the roles, responsibilities, hours, necessary background, experience, and educational requirements for your position.) 5. Tell the directors they can add to the list throughout the week as they work through their daily schedule. The modules presented here were funded in part by the Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education as part of the Virtual School Readiness Incubator Project. The content of these modules does not necessarily reflect the views or policies or imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education and/or the University of North Florida. These prototype materials are still in development and refinement and should be used with this caution in mind. 11