Your Best Teacher Isn’t Automatically Your Next Leader

You know the one.

Her classroom runs like clockwork. The children adore her. Parents ask for her by name. Her lesson plans are done, her room looks great, and somehow she can get twelve preschoolers cleaned up, sitting down, and ready for lunch while the rest of us are still trying to figure out where somebody’s other shoe went. She is AMAZING!

So when you need a lead teacher, mentor, trainer, or someone to take on more responsibility, the answer seems obvious:

Promote her.

And sometimes, she absolutely is the right person.

But sometimes your very best classroom teacher isn't ready to be your next leader.

Being Great With Children and Leading Adults Are Very Different Skills

One of the biggest mistakes we can make as childcare leaders is assuming that because someone is exceptional in the classroom, she'll automatically know how to help another adult become exceptional in theirs.

Think about what makes a fantastic teacher.

She may be patient with children. She understands development. She creates engaging activities. She manages transitions beautifully. She notices children's needs and adjusts quickly.

Those are incredibly valuable skills.

But now we're asking her to do something different.

Can she give constructive feedback to another teacher without embarrassing her?

Can she explain why something works instead of simply saying, “This is how I do it”?

Can she model expectations without becoming bossy?

Can she work alongside a struggling new teacher without getting frustrated and taking over?

Can she recognize when someone needs more training, when they need coaching, and when an issue needs to be brought to administration?

Those are leadership skills.

And we shouldn't expect someone to magically develop them just because we changed her title.

“Just Show Her What You Do”

I've been guilty of this one. Many times!

A new teacher starts Monday, we're short staffed, everyone is busy, and we put her with one of our strongest teachers.

“Just show her how we do things.”

Sounds reasonable, right?

Except we've given our experienced teacher a pretty big responsibility without necessarily teaching her how to train another adult.

One teacher may explain everything beautifully.

Another may do everything herself while the new employee watches.

Another might correct every little mistake until the new teacher is scared to move.

And another may teach the new employee her way instead of the center's way.

Then admin team wonders why every classroom seems to operate differently.

We don't necessarily have a bad trainer.

We may have an untrained trainer.

Teacher Leaders Are One of a Director's Greatest Assets

When we intentionally develop teacher leaders, something starts to change.

The director doesn't have to be the only person who knows how things should be done.

New employees have someone in the classroom who can model expectations.

Strong teachers begin helping strengthen other teachers.

Your center's culture becomes less dependent on one person constantly reminding, correcting, fixing, and putting out fires.

And perhaps most importantly, you're developing leadership before you desperately need another leader.

That's a much better time to do it.

So What Should You Look For?

Your future teacher leaders don't have to be perfect.

I'm much more interested in whether someone is teachable, dependable, respected, and willing to grow.

Look for the teacher who:

• follows through without constant reminders;

• understands the “why” behind your center's expectations;

• can receive feedback without immediately becoming defensive;

• communicates respectfully;

• helps coworkers without needing to be the boss;

• protects the culture instead of feeding gossip and negativity;

• can admit when she doesn't know something;

• genuinely wants other teachers to succeed;

• and models the practices you want repeated throughout your center.

That last one matters.

Because once you make someone a teacher leader, you aren't just recognizing what she does.

You're giving her influence over what other people will do.

Don't Just Give Her a Title. Give Her the Tools.

If we want teachers to become leaders, we have to teach them how to lead.

That includes things like:

Modeling instead of taking over.

Giving feedback without tearing someone down.

Knowing when to train, when to coach, and when something needs to be corrected.

Helping new teachers understand the culture—not just the daily schedule.

Handling resistance professionally.

Knowing what belongs with the teacher leader and what needs to go to administration.

And maybe one of the hardest lessons:

Leadership isn't about proving you're the best person in the room. It's about helping the people around you get better.

That's a big shift.

A great teacher asks, “How can I make my classroom successful?”

A teacher leader begins asking, “How can I help our team become successful?”

Build Leaders Before You Need Them

One of the best things we can do as directors is stop waiting until we're desperate for leadership to start developing leaders.

Look around your building.

There may already be a teacher with the potential to become an incredible mentor, trainer, classroom coach, lead teacher—or eventually even an administrator.

She may simply need someone to show her how.

And that is exactly why I created From Lead Teacher to Teacher Leader.

This training is designed to help childcare programs take strong classroom teachers and intentionally develop them into the people who can help train, mentor, model for, and support other teachers.

Because your director cannot—and should not—be the only person responsible for developing your team.

Your strongest teachers can become one of your greatest leadership resources.

But don't just promote them and hope they figure it out.

Teach them how to lead.

If you would like to take our course "From Lead Teacher to Teacher Leader" please follow this link to sign up! We will be doing this live in just a couple of weeks and I'd love to see you there.