How Democratic Is Your Nursery Management?
British Values requires early years practitioners to promote many things, and one of them is democracy. But how democratic is your leadership at work?
Democratic leadership (DL), also known as participative or shared leadership, is nothing new. Indeed, US presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were said to be advocates of this approach.
Nowadays, it’s promoted by many of the trendy creative industries (naming no names) and characterised by team members taking a more participative role in the decision-making process. In practical terms it sometimes extends to holding a ballot or vote, mostly informing the leader’s ultimate decision. It’s not an approach exclusive to politics or multinationals, though; it’s wholly applicable in any early years setting.
And I know from experience that it exists already in very many settings.
I wonder how remarkable it could be for more and more children to witness and learn from this type of democracy in action, first-hand.
What a great learning experience for children’s self-regulation, social and relationship skills, and study and even employability skills later on.
What’s involved?
In DL, team members participate, share ideas and discuss issues to inform decision-making, under the support of their leader.
It’s often the operating style teams reach when they are at fully functioning or ‘performing’ stage. But is does need conscious effort from all to make it as effective as possible. The benefits are many, and can include happier individuals and team members, improved idea or solution generation, the sharing of morals and values – which strengthens connections and relationships – and higher functionality and quality results.
Take this simple self-assessment test, and ask your team what they think:
- Are all team members supported to share ideas, thoughts and opinions?
- Is there a sense of creativity in the leader and team, and is it welcomed and valued?
- Do team members feel involved and engaged with the decision-making process?
- How honest, fair and democratic is the leader considered to be?
A majority vote could be enough, or the leader could have a casting vote if needed (think the Strictly panel). Or the leader could acknowledge the majority view but still side with the minority – explaining their position clearly to all. A leader lacking confidence and finding it difficult to make decisions may use this approach too much and destabilise the team in the process. This can be very unsettling for the team members, and weakens trust and respect.
It’s not a technique to use when teams are newly formed either, as members will be looking for strong directional leadership until the team develops further.
Nor is it for when there is tension and disagreement between small sub-groups, as the open sharing of views and ideas will either become stifled, or it will fuel disagreements and division.
Save it for when the group feels skilled and willing to participate. James Hempsall OBE is director of Hempsall’s training, research and consultancy. Visit hempsalls.com or follow on Twitter at @jhempsall.
