Category: An Incredible Leader

“These are unprecedented times for all of us.” We have all heard these eight words 25 times a day on TV and radio.  I personally didn’t need anyone to tell me this – I know it! I’ve received many, many notes from our community asking, “Sue, what can I do with my center and my

Time is like air – it will take up every single bit of the space available. Air takes up all of the space in a room, all of the space in your yard. Funny how time does the same thing (if we aren’t paying attention). A story that your staff member is telling you will

Are you always wondering “Why doesn’t my staff listen to me?” or “Why didn’t she do it the way I told her to do it?” What would you say if you heard them say, “What does she expect of me?” or “Why does she want us to do it like this when it works better

It’s hard to believe that we are closing in on another year.  They go by so fast. Most of us try to take account of what we accomplished during those 365 days.  Some of us make that list of what we did not yet accomplish. Regardless, there’s a lot of “List Development” going on in

When you watch children playing in your center, are you pleased with what you see?  When you LISTEN to the children, are you happy with what you hear?   This has always been the most eye-opening experience of my professional life.  How about for you?   Watching children play and interact with other children is

Do you think you would you feel better if you only had 5, or 10, or even just 20 decisions to make in a day?  Me too.   Reality check.  It must be an “early dismissal” if we only have 20 decisions to make today, right?   But, it’s probably not the fact that you’re

Want to get your crew in line quickly?  Just model the behavior you want.   Sounds easy, right?  We wish!!!   Most of us have at one time or another given “mixed signals” to staff or family or friends.  We say, “I want you to do this” and then we do just the opposite.  

We’re not the kind of people who like a spotlight.  Early childhood professionals tend to be more humble, behind the scenes, get the job done with little fanfare.   We’re really focused on the children…helping them to be all that they can be.   Reality is, you are in the spotlight when you are an

In every career we all go through stages.   Before we began as child care professionals, we were wide-eyed, excited, full of fabulous ideas, and couldn’t wait to get to the center every day to work with the children.   We had every intention of providing the very best care and education to the children

I LOVE children.  I LOVE teaching.  I LOVE helping moms and dads become better parents.  I love mentoring staff.   So, why do I sometimes DREAD going to work in my child care center?   Wait, wait.  I know this answer!   Is it because once you arrive at your center, you don’t get to

It’s really hard to believe that a child care director could really be expected to have so much paperwork to do that they barely have time to interact children or staff.   But as many of you know, (I see your heads nodding) it’s true.  Documentation rules the day.   How has it come to

It’s probably more than one.   What if it’s 25?  That’s a lot!  How will I ever get that many?   Maybe it’s only seven … or nine … or ten.  Lots of people write about The 10 Leadership Qualities You Need to …..   So, is it 10?   (So, this is your first

Benchmarking: Where are You?  Where do You Want to Be?  How do You get “There”? Benchmarking. An overused term, or a label of accountability? In a time when each of us is expected to do more with less, it is no longer adequate to look at numbers as benchmarks. Boards, stockholders, and funders are asking

Each day seems to present more risk factors than we have ever had to consider in the past. As managers, we encounter risk in many areas: decisions about day-to-day business; growth plans for implementing new products or services; changes in policies or procedures; and even career decisions. To be a successful executive, one must be

Competitive Strategies Today The Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, based at the Harvard Business School, defines competitive strategy as “how a company competes in a particular business (note: overall strategy for diversified firms is referred to as corporate strategy). Competitive strategy is concerned with how a company can gain a competitive advantage through a distinctive

“It’s who you know that counts.” We hear this all the time…and many of us believe it to be true. Our success often hinges on the relationships we can build with decision-makers in our own company, in those we buy from or sell to, and in those who make policy decisions that affect our work.

Some say the economy is turning around and business should be improving. We asked several business owners what they would suggest as a growth strategy over the next few months to make an organization more visible, more appealing to current and potential customers. Here are their thoughts on business growth strategies: “Good economy or bad,

Successful business people become successful because they devote far more than 40 hours per week to their work. It is common for very successful people to work 60+ hours per week and volunteer on boards and committees an additional 5-10 hours per week. Whew! Where is their time for a personal life? How can they

We want to learn. We need to be current. We sure could use some good advice. With high demands to meet our competition in every area of business — sales, R&D, staffing, production, etc., how do we, as leaders, most effectively continue in our own professional development? This issue, we asked leaders, “How do you

Envision Yourself As An Incredible Leader of Your Child Care Center: The Who, Why, What, How & When Who? As a group, people who work in the child care arena are very loving, giving, humble, and hard working.  Let’s say again, VERY hard working.  You may be running a non-profit, a church related, a government