National Afterschool Association 24th Annual National Convention: Day 1, Part 2

Day 1, Part 2

Afternoon Workshop: Eight Habits of Highly Effective Afterschool Leaders presented by Mike and Chelsea Ashcraft, Children's Choice Child Care Services, Inc.

Workshop Blurb: Attend this workshop and explore the traits, passions and habits required to be a highly effective afterschool leader of children and staff. These 8 habits are essential for afterschool professionals in leadership roles: leading kids, mentoring colleagues, or supervising staff. Come investigate these powerful elements and learn practical and use approaches to enhance these traits and transform yourself and others into extraordinary afterschool leaders.

Lessons Learned:

The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Afterschool Leaders are

1. Safety First - not only health, but emotional as well.

2. Vision and Values - Values = Foundation (who's the boss?) and Leadership = Love ( staff, youth, etc.)
     

    Values -

• Positivity
• Sponginess (soaking up knowledge)
• Trust and support
•  Goals/mission/vision.

    Vision = Compass (where you want to go)

• Shared vision of excellence centered on the kids, families, schools and community.
• Focus on quality

A Dream Is Just A Dream Until You Take Your Pajamas Off And Get To Work!

3. E.R.E - Environment, Relationships, Experiences. The environment sends cues about how we should  feel and behave. It's all about relationships...knowledge rests not just within truth, but also upon error. When it comes to experiences, you should "make like a puppy" (be enthusiastic), establish "Funergy" (the act of combining playfulness and enthusiasm to create a valuable experience--my own definition) and create "Purple Cow" moments.

4. Leadership Culture = KIPC (Knowledge, Information, Power, Control)

5. Influence - fun, playful, challenging, meaningful work, sincere acknowledgement, objective feedback, teamwork and relevancy (what's in it for me) is intrinsically rewarding. Find a frame that works. If you can't frame it...don't teach it.

" Pull the strong and it will follow wherever you pull it. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all" - General Dwight D. Eisenhower

6. Community Building (Kids, Families, Staff) - all activities should have a purpose. All for one and one for all.

7. Dialogue - Planning, Purpose, Outcome, Kiss & W.A.I.T (Why Am I Talking)! - 

    

    Ground Rules for staff/board meetings:

• One person at a time (using a "talking stick"--this would probably work better with Youth Advisory Council)
• No put-downs
• No Fire-hosing (shooting down ideas or opinions)

8. Forever - Lifelong Learning and Critical Reflection

• Request help
• Sharpen the saw - take care of yourself physically, socially, mentally (learn a new skill, read, write, teach, etc.), and spiritually (nature, meditation, music, art, etc.)

My Thoughts:

I'm currently taking a mentored Leadership Development course this spring and thought this workshop would complement that, specifically since the focus is on afterschool leaders. During my mentored course, I learned about many of the above topics (vision, values, influence, organizational culture, communication and continued learning) but there is always room for improvement. I can help a child develop a positive self-image by avoiding showing favoritism, having faith in children to accomplish tasks and do the right thing, and being consistent in attitude, behavior and decision; I can employ the no-firehosing rule when it comes to communicating with staff and/or board members. Just be more open-minded use words like "and" or "if" instead of "but" (That’s a good idea, AND it might work, IF you can find a way to afford it" vs "That’s a good idea, BUT we can’t afford it").

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Mid-Afternoon Workshop: Leadership Lessons for Afterschool Program Directors presented by Dr. Paul Young, National AfterSchool Association

    Workshop Blurb: Are you an administrator of an afterschool program? Do you share responsibilities for training aspiring or practicing program leaders? Want to do more leading than managing? AfterSchool Leadership Lessons includes dozens of practical job-embedded studies that are relevant for school-based, community-based, full-time, or part-time, new or experienced program leaders. This session is interactive, fun, and certain to equip you with ideas that help you design the future of your afterschool program.

Lessons Learned:

• Afterschool program leaders must be collaborative partners that embrace school learning goals and show commitment to achieve those goals. Working in isolation without community connections will result in high levels of frustration.

• Afterschool professionals have a personal obligation and a collegial responsibility to support the needs and increase the capacity of individuals leading afterschool programs.

• Leadership comes from your ability to inspire trust in other people. If people trust you, they will follow. If people can't trust you, eventually things will fall apart.

Leadership skills, knowledge, discipline, qualities and traits that afterschool professionals need to be effective in their work: knowledge, appearance of power, standard, integrity, vision, assertiveness, trust, charisma, optimism.

• Being a manager, supervisor, or the person accountable for things or simply having a title does not make you a leader. You must build relationships to become a leader.  

• Leadership is about influence. There are five common levels of leadership influence (referenced John C. Maxwell's Leadership 101):           

         1. Position - People follow because they have to.

         2. Permission - People follow because they want to.

         3. Production - People follow because of what you have done for the organization.

         4. Pinnacle (Person Development) - People follow because of what you have done for them     personally.

         5. Personhood - People follow because of who you are and what you represent.

• A leader's job is to anticipate what will happen, minimize the unpredictable, understand the consequences, and lead with cunning and power. Character is essential. Legacy is shaped by instincts which reflect character. Leaders cannot ignore their ideals or fail to deal with the realities around them!

My Thoughts: 

Early on during school, I quickly learned that I did not want to be the ED of my organization. I want to be the person coming up with the program ideas, like a program director/manager/coordinator. When I saw this workshop offered in the book, it was an immediate first choice. The workshop was mostly interactive. The NAA website has AfterSchool Leadership lessons for members only and Dr. Young had about 25 in his presentation. Since he couldn't go over all of them, he asked engaged the audience by finding out what they wanted to talk about. He announced the birth date of a family member and whichever audience member was closest, got to pick a topic. "Dealing with Difficult Parents" and "Ethical Afterschool Leadership" were a couple of the topics that were chosen. This workshop touched on things I've learned in my mentored Leadership Development course such as influence, relationship-building, and the skills needed to be an effective leader. Dr. Young even provided some action items that I can do:


1. Review, learn, adapt, and practice strategies outlined in common leadership lesson on NAA website.

2. Read the books Buy-In: Saving your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down (Kotter, J & Whitehead, L.), Leadership 101 (Maxwell, J), and Purple Cow (Godin, S).

3. Self-evaluation is essential to improving leadership capacity. Reflect on how effectively you invest and engage in your own professional development.

4. Network with and learn from other afterschool program leaders. Listen and learn from their stories.