Characteristics Of Leadership And Management In Early Years

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The aim of this assignment is to critique my own role as a manager of quality services within an analysis of current thinking and practice in Early Years Settings, demonstrating how my setting involves children, parents and the community in developing quality practices for the provision of care and education and assessing the impact of my own role as a leader and manager in this process. The terms ‘Leadership’ and ‘Management’ are often used interchangeably – particularly within early years. This is both unhelpful and confusing. Indeed, both these terms are often misunderstood across a range of professional disciplines. Law and Glover (2000, cited in Rodd, 2006) offer helpful insights into the different emphases of the two roles. They encourage…show more content…
The organisation in which i work prefer to work as team and talk through any ideas we may have. All teachers and practitioners would talk about what they would like to do, how and ask if there are any changes we could make to ensure it is the best possible way to go about the situation. For example, changing a role play area, practitioners would involve children gather their thoughts, send a letter to parents asking for any extra ideas, and finally staff would discuss resources needed, location and size etc for the role play area. It is important to understand that leadership and management are inherently linked and interwoven. Effective leaders in early childhood need to be aware that their leadership role is more than routine management, which focuses on the present and is dominated by issues of continuity and stability. Waniganayake et al. (2000) argue that management and leadership are different dimensions of the work of early childhood setting directors and…show more content…
Successful organisations have leaders who set high standards and goals across the entire spectrum, such as strategies, market leadership, plans, meetings and presentations, productivity, quality, and reliability. Kouzes & Posner, 1987 talk about the road to great leadership and how it is common to successful leaders. They say to challenge the process, find a process you believe needs to be improved the most, then share your vision in words that can be understood by followers and inspire them. Next you enable others to act, you give them the tools and methods to solve problems and when the process gets tough you model it the right way. A boss tells others what to do but a leader shows that it can be done. Finally encourage the heart, share the glory with your followers whilst keeping the pain within your own. There are two distinct forces that dictate how to act within an organisation: culture and climate. ‘Each organisation has its own distinctive culture. It is a combination of the founders, past leadership, current leadership, crises, events, history, and size’ (Newstrom, Davis,

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