Within any school, strong leadership at the top is essential. A strong leader determines direction, daily progression, and how everyone responds to change. Only then can a team be successful and prosper. Moreover, a child care leader or center director ensures that everyone is working towards a common goal.
Transformational leadership is an approach that inspires people to be better and influences positive change in them. As a result, embracing your transformation as a leader helps anyone following you become a solid leader one day. Transformational leaders work to achieve a common goal and be role models for their followers.
Benefits of being a transformational leader
With the details mentioned above, it is easy to understand that a transformational leadership approach does not only require leading the team in a mission or a task. It tends to be a lot more. It involves motivating followers to be a better version of themselves and take ownership of their mistakes. Hence, there are many benefits of being a transformational leader:
There is more focus on learning:
The first benefit of being a transformational leader is that everyone in the group is encouraged to learn. The focus is not on completing a task or a project in due time but on how your followers are strengthened. Developing a mindset to be a lifelong learner helps change your thinking. When you surround yourself with people eager to learn new skills and techniques, you challenge yourself to improve.
Improved Communication:
A big problem is the communication gap between childcare leaders and teachers. For transformation to happen within the organization, we can not fear changing the lines of communication. When everyone knows what they are expected to do, it's easier to collaborate and work together. Instead of assigning tasks, transformational leaders ensure they are available to train or assist. There is a two-way method of communication, so everyone has clarity and knows their role precisely. Active listening boosts everyone's morale.
Everyone is passionate:
Performance usually gets better when everyone's seriously passionate about something. Transformational leaders can transfer a greater level of passion. When their followers see how passionate their leader is about a goal or an achievement, they can have that passion. This can improve all individuals' performance and lead them to come together and work towards a common goal.
Steps to Become a Transformational Childcare Leader
There are specific steps to becoming a successful transformational leader, fulfilling the collective goal and inspiring positive change in people. There are four main steps to becoming a transformational leader.
1. Have a vision:
The first step is to have a vision or a goal you want to work towards or achieve. With a vision, the process can get underway, and you can influence and motivate others to work toward a particular direction. When you have a target, you can assess the different strengths of your followers and give tasks accordingly. Moreover, you can plan strategies according to your mark in mind.
2. Motivate people towards that vision:
Just having a vision is not enough. The challenge comes when you motivate others to achieve that goal and target. You have to explain your vision to your subordinates and explain the benefits it can give. You often have to connect your vision with the benefits it will provide your followers so they are as passionate about the goal as you. Only once the people have been motivated and encouraged will they join you in your mission.
3. Completing the Vision:
Having a vision and having people with you is often necessary to reach where you want to be. But more than just having a vision is needed and shows that you are far from where you want to be. Many people have a vision, but it only has meaning when it becomes a reality. For this, you must put in many sleepless nights, hard work, and effort.
Not only this, but you have to assign each person their relative tasks and jobs, which reflect their strengths. You have to be accurate in your judgment about which task will suit which individual. You can also set short-term goals so the followers can handle the vast workload.
4. Development of Followers:
The last step defines a transformational leader. Your followers' positive change and development will determine your success in your quest to become one.
You can have one-on-one conversations with your workers and understand their needs. You can motivate them, boost their morale, and inspire them to become better individuals and learn new skills.
All this is a matter of trust and understanding between the leader and followers. The more comfortable followers are in approaching and communicating with their leader, the easier their development will be.
In conclusion, Most people use the term "leadership" to refer to transformational leadership. In its broad sense, leadership means requiring everyone to work towards a single goal and, in the process, find their new and better selves.
Meet the Author
Sheika Petteway, Chief ENCOURAGING Officer
She provides educational and leadership training to individuals and organizations. She is the founder and CEO of Elite Educational Enterprises and has several years experience serving in the early childhood education industry.
Text the word "join" to 855-691-1749 to receive encouraging messages monthly.
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