Leadership, Creativity, and Innovation EDEC309

Name: Simran Shrestha

Student no: 2043465240

Unit: EDEC309 Leadership, Creativity, and Innovation

Assessment 02: Reflective Essay on leadership styles and personal goals

Lecturer: Fiona Liddell

Leadership in early childhood:

Based around early childhood settings, leadership has different dimensions and its important because they are the driving force.

1. Leadership and working styles:

Through my understanding, and Bolman & Deals four frame model, leadership styles are structural, political, human resources and symbolic. Each of these styles has unique characteristics critical while working collaboratively as a team (Bolman & Deal, 1991).

When we look at different working styles, i.e., analytical, driver, expressive and amiable, each of these styles have significant qualities and strengths (Merrill & Ried, 1981).

We need to have a mixture of all working styles because if all individuals have traits of driver, then whos going to be manager? Whos going to be educational leader? Or if everyone has traits of amiable, whos going to be in charge?

Structural leadership resonating Analytical working style:

In my perspective, structural style of leadership emphasizes rationality, goal-orientation, task focused and stability, clear structure, and learning environments being very organised. However, I think that this type of leadership might hinder creativeness and adaptability. I believe this leadership resonates with analytical working style because the characteristics are quite similar. Structural approach believes in facts, data, and planning and so does analytical style Bolman & Deal, 1991).

Structural leadership individuals have an exceptionally good understanding of thinking clearly, analysing, planning, and getting the things done. Simultaneously, analytical working style includes people wanting things done right for the first time and they avoid conflict. Therefore, structural leadership and analytical working style goes side by side.

Political leadership resonating Driver working style:

Political leadership entails negotiation skills, power, bargaining skills, and coalitions (Bolman & Deal, 1991). Working in EC settings, I have observed dynamics of power, conflict, and differences in many areas. I believe yes, frequently there are conflicts in services and mostly Ive seen educators gossiping. This is why I believe we need strong leaders and political leadership suggests leaders on how to navigate on these issues.

Strengths of political leadership include being very direct, assertive, goal driven, and efficient. These traits resonate with driver working style and so important to operate a centre. Amongst unique styles of leadership, I think in any service, there should be a political leader because if everyone is structural, symbolic, or human resources, each others personalities will clash and wont be a better outcome (Merrill & Ried, 1981).

Human Resources resonating Expressive:

Human resources (HR) leaders prioritize well-being and right fit for the service. HR leaders believe that their prime objective is to motivate employees, coach and develop an efficient team. HR leaders believe that a strong leader serves as a bridge for empowering and supporting employees. I believe this approach places a strong emphasis on getting to know individuals needs, attitudes, emotions, and abilities to foster a supportive workplace where all gets along and collaborates well which is relevant to expressive working style (Merrill & Ried, 1981).

Expressive working style resonates with HR leader because the traits link to each other such as being enthusiastic, motivating team, persuasive, people focused and energetic.

Symbolic resonating with amiable working style:

I believe that symbolic leaders create a unified goal for their team by inspiring and motivating team. Symbolic leadership believes that primary task of management is to provide a vision and I agree to this (Bolman & Deal, 1991).

Often, they tend to rely on their own personality, charisma, and dramatic flair to energise people and deeply engage them working towards the centres goal. This approach relates to amiable working style as they are very sympathetic, calm, kind and inoffensive. Being a good listener, supportive, empathetic and team focused are core strengths of amiable working style individuals (Merrill & Ried, 1981).

2. Preferred leadership style:

I had undergone self-assessment of the four-frame model from Balman and Deals and my leadership style came to be structural. The characteristics of structural leadership was resembling to my own traits, such as being task-focused, analysing, looking for data. I love planning and most of the times, Id like to be accurate with my facts which aligns with NESAS teaching domain of professional practice about planning effectively and knowing my contents to teach (NESA, 2018).

I believe that I am goal-orientated and tends to multitask. For e.g., making use of rest time to set various activities/crafts or sanitising toys. This is because I like to get things done rather than leaving it to do later. As were busy, I plan what tasks needs more priority and work accordingly.

My leadership style entails being independent, planner and patience which aligns with analytical style. I like having a productive day and getting things done correctly. Sometimes I get frustrated when collaborating with people who doesnt show any enthusiasm of working or their low productivity. However, Id like to add up some elements of all four working styles. For instance, Ill like to work on myself to be assertive and taking charge which are strengths of a driver. I would like to be more energetic and motivator which are traits of expressives. I would like to build my skills to be more patient and enhance creativity. For me to build these skills, it will take some time and Id have to regularly push myself to do best. When I balance of all these unique characteristics, I believe it would boost my confidence, capability of responding to unexpected setbacks (Merrill & Ried, 1981).

My leadership style includes being deliberate, thoughtful, and having a purpose on what I do. This aligns with EYLF practices of play-based learning and intentionality where it mentions that educators should act purposefully and create meaningful experiences and thats exactly what Im implementing in my service. I believe this helps in creating such a learning environment where its beneficial and effective for children with some structure. I am very observant, analyse things and detail focused. For instance, while setting up the environment indoor and outdoor, I make sure that everything is set up, organised, make the learning environment a facilitator for children (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE], 2022).

While I love having a clear structure and facts, I might not always make a best or right decisions. We are all humans, and we make mistakes but what matters is how we hold accountable for it and keep going with 100?fort. Having a clear structure helps in the room that Im working because there are trainees, and they might need extra support.

My Structural leadership strongly relate to analytical style and my strengths include being analytical person and logical. Thinking logically is important trait that will help in the long run of any services. I strongly believe that when we are well-organised, our tasks get completed efficiently and accurately. Truthfully, when I initially worked in this profession, I was not a logical thinker at all and was thinking emotionally but with time and patience, Im now progressing towards being logical in all scenarios that I encounter (Merrill & Ried, 1981).

Both professionally and personally, I tend to avoid conflicts which may lead to promoting a positive and supportive work culture. However, I believe this might limit my ability to adapt and be spontaneous in the environment and especially in this profession with constant changes, being spontaneous is necessary. My leadership style is structural, but I would gradually like to develop skills and characteristics to use political leadership approach in future. It is because Id like to be confident in resolving conflicts or confronting individuals. My vision being a leader incorporates elements of political leaders such as advocating and negotiating who recognises politics and would be comfortable when dealing with conflicts (Bolman & Deal, 1991).

My Personal pedagogy and values:

My personal pedagogy emphasizes that each child is unique and has their own experiences, capabilities, challenges, and strengths. I believe in child-centred curriculum focusing on childs interests, preference and that educators can be a positive driving force for to support children (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE], 2022)

I value each child and respect for who they are. I value and honour children from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and I strongly believe that cultural upbringing shapes up childs identity, and this is why, how each child views the world varies (Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE], 2022).

My pedagogy lies in motivating children to explore, spark their interests, and provide appropriate resources to facilitate their learning which I drew my inspiration from Reggio Emilias approach. I believe in creating a safe, secure, and inclusive learning environment to promote each childs holistic development (NESA, 2018).

I highly believe that a curriculum should be child-centred but at the same time I feel that the learning space should have a bit of structure. If theres just free play without no proper structure, it might be challenging.

3. Current strengths and weaknesses:

My current strengths include being multitasker, analytical and organizational skills. It is because I often do it at work. I love multitasking & organising because tasks get done quicker and saves some time. Im analytical as I always evaluate information, its credibility, whether its factual or not, etc (Merrill & Ried, 1981).

Another strength includes my flexibility because Im flexible and can adapt to work in any age groups. Example: this is evident at my work as NS asked me before she made the roster to work across all the rooms and Im always ready to take any responsibility and assist for the smooth running of our service.

Motivating educators and influencing positive energy has been my core strengths. I have incorporated into my practice. Example: being enthusiastic with great energy had influenced child and the learning spaces which led to better outcomes at work.

My current weakness is decision making skills because when making decisions, I tend to second guess myself rather than deciding firmly and under intense pressure, sometimes I may hesitate to make a proper decision.

Another skill that I need to work on is to resolve conflict. For e.g. in many cases, I have seen myself withdrawing my ideas to avoid conflicts and Id like to develop negotiation skills and build up my confidence to address conflicts in a professional manner. Furthermore, in few years, I want to acquire skills of a political leader to be nominated supervisor or director (Bolman & Deal, 1991).

Current weakness entails for me to work on to be persuasive while communicating in different settings because being persuasive is necessary as it includes effective communication, and ability to address arguments (Merrill & Ried, 1981).

Being in this profession has made me strong and showed me that when we think logically, it gives me a plan on what to do next. For example: few months ago, at work, things were incredibly challenging, the routine of rooms, not having additional support for special needs children and high behavioural issues, etc. This kept ongoing for several weeks. All staffs working in the preschool room were struggling which was impacting our performance severely. Instead of dwelling on that issue, I went to the office and addressed my concerns and boundaries. This scenario taught me to think logically while experiencing tough and challenging situations. Later, other educators praised me for advocating on behalf of staffs and children.

My room coordinator approached me when we both were at our breaks. She then thanked and appreciated my contributions towards creating a program for our room. Similarly, when I was changing a nappy for a child, a colleague approached and mentioned to me just be who I am and never lose my spark because the children get so excited to see and they adored me. This motivated me more.

Short-term goals (6 months goal)

1. To learn about polices & procedures for opening and closing of the service including pick up of the child.

• Research & read: Firstly, I need to obtain and read organisations policies and procedures outlining pick up of the child. Then, understand and be confident in our policies and procedures of when families come to pick up their child.

• Training sessions: I would attend any workshops that relates to these procedures. Also, actively working towards opening and closing routine/tasks of the organisation. I will achieve this by being flexible in my availability and start doing opening/closing shifts.

2. To learn and be confident on responsible person (RP) checklists:

• Reviewing checklists: I will work towards this goal by obtaining RP checklists and reviewing them in depth.
• Hands-on practice: I will ask for chances to practice these duties under supervision until Im comfortable doing so.
• Feedback: For me to be a confident RP, I would have to ask feedback for experienced RPs to enhance my knowledge and performance level.
  
  

3. To observe, communicate, and gather information from another RP:

Observation: To achieve this goal, I will observe another RP, their techniques, and strategies.

Regular meetings: I will communicate with RPs and arrange for frequent check-ins to talk about their roles and experiences.

Seeking mentorship: I might need some advice and assistance while I learn, I might think about asking an experienced RP to be my mentor.

Long-term goals: (12 months goal)

My long-term goal entails to become a responsible person. This is my professional goal which Im anticipating achieving within 8-12 months. To achieve this goal, I will complete the above-mentioned short-term goals. Once I have a proper understanding of policies, training, skills development, and practical experience, I would be much more confident and comfortable to achieve long term goal.

To become an RP, I will self-reflect, seek feedback, and set up measurable milestones and stay committed on my goal. I will achieve this by networking and building connections with colleagues.

Bibliography

Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE]. (2022). Belonging, Being & Becoming/ The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia V2.0. ACECQA: https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T.E. (1991). Reframing Organisations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Merrill, D. W., & Reid, R.H. (1981).Personal styles and effective performance: Make your style work for you. Radnor, PA: Chilton Book Company.

NESA. (2018). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. SW Government: https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/Australian-Professional-Standards-for-Teachers-teacher-accreditation.pdf