Trust your processes and systems during a crisis

Setting the stage. Creating strong protocols or systems that have sufficient flexibility are crucial to handling crises. It’s important to be fully informed before developing/refining a process and being open to improvement/innovation on an ongoing basis. System-thinkers, are my people. Sometimes it feels like we are few but we’re a mighty bunch. We have the ability to create such strong protocols because we see the big and small picture.

Trust your work. In early childhood education, there is almost never a one-size fits all and there are always extremes testing the work you’ve done on systems. If you veer from your carefully crafted process, you’ve created doubt in the system. Not following systems causes leaders to be reactive, which is not productive. This uncertainty and either developing something else or flying by the seat of your pants is going to lead to anxiety amongst staff.

Bring others along. A system is worthless if no one buys into it or follows it. Getting feedback and collaborating during development is probably the strongest way to create that buy-in. Just to be clear, sending an email requesting feedback and assuming silence means approval does not count. Make sure staff know and understand the protocol by conducting trainings, info sessions, office hours, etc. to get everyone on the same page and trust in the system. One step I’m starting to find vital is having leadership hold staff accountable to it too. This one can be tough in a large bureaucracy.

I guess protocols are not fun, but they make time for you to have fun and be less stressed out. Protocol development is probably my strongest attribute as a leader and I’m always available to collaborate too!