earlyyears.teachwire.net
07
nursery business
from those many talented people
working in other businesses beyond
its borders, often listed in publications
such as
The Sunday Times
‘Best
Companies to Work For’ list.
COPING WITH
CHANGE
One of the continual challenges facing
all businesses is managing change.
Change is a messy business and,
according to Michael Fullan, is ‘rocket
science’ because it’s so complex and
we are so often given contradictory
advice. According to the great writer of
management theories Charles Handy,
most organisations change only when
they are frightened, when the costs
of no change vastly exceed the risks.
Nursery businesses are subject to
massive change. Internally, we have
to create staff teams able to change
and meet the needs of new children
and families, and external change
is equally challenging as nurseries
are also subject to the often short-
term and poorly researched change
requirements imposed by government
policies. Good business leaders need
to understand the theories of change,
including the barriers to change and
how to deal with them, and the levers
of change and how to choose between
them. It’s all about culture and core
values with leaders enthusing and
encouraging a belief in their staff for
the change.
Finally, good businesses are
good at communication. People
connect with those businesses and
brands that tell their story. Many
nursery business would benefit from
better understanding these types of
marketing skills, not just in terms of
communicating their own business’s
unique selling point but also how the
collective voice can help the early
years sector create a narrative that
explains the power of high-quality
nurseries to the broader public.
June O’Sullivan MBE
is the CEO of the
London Early Years
Foundation. Visit leyf.
org.uk, June’s blog at
juneosullivan.wordpress.com
or
follow
@JuneOSullivan
