Strengthening Leadership Through Shared Experience: Early Childhood Specialists Reflect on the 5Rs by Vanessa Maanao-French

Instructions

vmaanao — 2025-09-08 21:52:54 UTC

Think about your work in early childhood education—whether as a specialist, coach, or leader. Reflect on how you've supported leaders in strengthening relationships within their teams. You can share a specific strategy, a story, or even something you've observed that helped build a unified, supportive team culture.
What has worked well in your experience?

Instructions

vmaanao — 2025-09-08 21:53:34 UTC

Consider how you've helped leaders clarify and communicate their purpose and vision. This could be through coaching conversations, team meetings, or modeling communication strategies. You’re welcome to share from your own experience or something you’ve seen others do effectively.
How do you help leaders inspire and align their teams around a shared vision?

Instructions

vmaanao — 2025-09-08 21:55:21 UTC

Think about how you've supported leaders in identifying, assessing, or expanding resources—whether those are materials, staffing, professional development, or community partnerships. Share an example or approach that helped leaders better support their staff.
What strategies have you used or observed that made a difference?

Instructions

vmaanao — 2025-09-08 21:56:11 UTC

Reflect on how you've created space for leaders to engage in meaningful reflection with their teams. This could include structured conversations, team retreats, coaching sessions, or informal check-ins.
What kinds of opportunities have you facilitated or seen that encouraged thoughtful dialogue and growth?

Instructions

vmaanao — 2025-09-08 21:57:15 UTC

Think about how you've helped leaders foster a culture of appreciation. This might include formal recognition systems, everyday acknowledgments, or modeling gratitude.
What practices have you used or observed that helped staff feel valued and seen?

2026-01-28 20:06:55 UTC

Providing space, opportunities for the team to have space for reflective discussion, additionally time.

JordonTaylor — 2026-01-28 20:07:09 UTC

Bringing groups together to share resources (HS.gov; community resources)

ddrake23 — 2026-01-28 20:07:50 UTC

Utilizing Community of Learners as an approach to give opportunity to learn, share, explore, and try out.

2026-01-28 20:07:59 UTC

Protected time and letting individuals engage in this type of way with others, additional individuals besides leadership. Thinking about psychological safety, feeling that it is ok and a safe space to have discussions.

5 Why's

2026-01-28 20:08:34 UTC

JordonTaylor — 2026-01-28 20:08:35 UTC

Helping programs to navigate HS.gov

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Ensuring leadership joins in with staff and takes part in conversations versus being at a separate space.

SR Goals

2026-01-28 20:08:49 UTC

ddrake23 — 2026-01-28 20:09:39 UTC

Utilize Process Consultation strategies/practies.

2026-01-28 20:09:44 UTC

Using Process consultation, for example prompts can be helpful. Noticing when individuals maybe are not feeling safe to share, thinking of strategies to support discussions and safe sharing. Thinking of approaches and the building of psychological safety.

Building belonging around each of our values and beliefs

2026-01-28 20:10:13 UTC

2026-01-28 20:11:23 UTC

Think about readiness for staff, what is the group ready for, can we ask reflective questions, keeping this in mind as you make decisions on how to approach. Also working with Leadership to help them engage in the process and to be comfortable and understand the process is important and not necessarily a bad thing - Thinking of confidence, being willing to be open to feedback.

JordonTaylor — 2026-01-28 20:11:58 UTC

Highlight key resource on HS.gov related to TA topics---recipients often don't have time to explore resources on HS.gov. Actually taking time to review the resource vs just providing the link.

2026-01-28 20:12:10 UTC

Transparency is key

Working with a director of operations, building trust with managers, looked at 5Rs leaderships styles, and responsive relationships and trust. Each person shared their leadership styles and positive feedback to each person. Focus on building relationships, ultimately creating stronger relationships.

2026-01-28 20:12:47 UTC

2026-01-28 20:13:51 UTC

Thinking about agreements on what reflection looks like, think about ground rules and what the process looks like. Team Norms. Engagement Norms. Some examples: Respect the truth of others.

JordonTaylor — 2026-01-28 20:14:39 UTC

Helping recipients to create resource binders/online folders for staff

2026-01-28 20:14:39 UTC

Access inspirational tools, shared example of resilience tools from Harvard.

Mission and Vision Statements for Agency.

2026-01-28 20:16:03 UTC

ddrake23 — 2026-01-28 20:16:24 UTC

For example, Harvard Center on the Developing Child resources on resilience. Understanding resilience from a shared or learned perspective. Recognizing resilience in a growth mindset, in our success and those things that might challenge us.

Reflective Practice

2026-01-28 20:16:32 UTC

2026-01-28 20:16:43 UTC

Thinking about how to get shared messages to leadership team, individuals might share/discuss barriers or concerns but then won't share once all are together. Idea - using a question to ask how do you deal with this when this happens, sharing perspectives from both sides.

JordonTaylor — 2026-01-28 20:17:16 UTC

New Leader Institute: Created a scavenger hunt for HS.gov (after showing how to navigate the website)

Allowing space and the pace of supporting program staff.

2026-01-28 20:18:02 UTC

JordonTaylor — 2026-01-28 20:18:19 UTC

Building of a buddy system--people are resources

Reason Discussion

2026-01-28 20:18:27 UTC

Complete the 5 why exercise with staff
Using it in reflective practice why do you think that happen, important ect.
The reason is important in helping leaders support staff in reflective practice.
Example staff wanting to turn hard conversation over to leadership and not take the lead
Mission and Vision Statements

JordonTaylor — 2026-01-28 20:18:55 UTC

Coordinated approach to onboarding and orientation

ddrake23 — 2026-01-28 20:19:04 UTC

Using appreciative inquiry to highlight strengths, and incorporating structures like Think–Pair–Share or small‑group carousels so all voices—regardless of role or experience—can contribute without pressure.

2026-01-28 20:19:19 UTC

Move beyond one-and-done appreciation

Recognizing strengths and celebrating strengths. Not focusing on what's going wrong.

Find something to celebrate about the recipient and share that during a meeting.

Celebrate vulnerability, risk-taking, and openness.

year-in-review with recipients to celebrate progress.

Raise up accomplishments and progress. This is good modeling for leaders.

Specific with recognition....no "good jobs"

Look for little successes.

Articulate the "why" and help program leaders communicate the "why" to staff.

2026-01-28 20:19:21 UTC

Trainings that incorporate what staff have shared and then presented with full staff/leadership, helps to get the topics into the space. Reflected on the following - in a situation like this does the leadership see it as a barrier? Shared an example where leadership had an A-ha moment based off of what happened within a training.

ddrake23 — 2026-01-28 20:20:05 UTC

Resources — Providing tools that make reflection accessible and inclusive

To ensure all staff can participate meaningfully, I provide leaders with practical tools such as

structured data protocols (e.g., “I Notice/I Wonder”),
discussion sentence stems,
reflection journals,
carousel station templates,
guiding questions tied to the PFCE Framework or Effective Practice Guides.