I want you to have a moment where you feel like Michael Jordan as a Director. Your center is your court. You should dominate it!
I am a basketball fan. I have several heroes from that field, but Michael Jordan is someone everyone knows, or at least they think they do. Millions of Nike’s Jordan sneakers have been sold over the years. He still earns over $100 million a year, because he is such a part of the American culture. He is the what we think of when we think EXCELLENCE.
But how did he get there and how can you emulate him? He said, “I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals.” Did you take time to learn the fundamentals? What are the fundamentals of Directing a child care center?
- Professionalism
- Marketing
- Curriculum Development
- Staff Recruitment & Training
- Communication
These are the core of the Texas Director’s Director Credentialing courses and most of our ongoing trainings. There are other things you need to know, but these are the core. If you have these down cold, then the minor crises can be handled.
If you don’t feel confidence in your fundamentals, reach out to us. We can help you with training or individual coaching.
A child falls on the playground, breaking an arm. As a professional who has trained her staff well, you know that first aid will be rendered, the child will be comforted, that then the parens will be communicated with well, and then the paperwork will be completed.
OR
The city cuts off the water to your street while they are upgrading lines or the road, whatever. It doesn’t matter why they did it, but it happened and now you have a situation. Go out & use your communication skills to find out how long all this is going to last & help them to understand why this is a huge issue for your children. If it is going to be more than 5 minutes, lean on marketing, curriculum development & professionalism to determine what you can do that will provide a quality day for your students. You may have to call the parents to get the children because you can’t provide care, or you might be able to create an impromptu field trip to the neighborhood park, using their plumbing, facilities & picnic tables. If so, just call, text, email parents to let them know how the plans have changed.
Once we have the fundamentals down we move into proficiency.
“I’m not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat. “-Michael Jordan We have to keep working on things. Practice. Drill. Do it again. And again. And Again. Walk through the program every day. Talk to parents every morning & afternoon. Do tours. When you are done, evaluate how it went. Do you need to shift something? Are you making your free throws? BTW tours are the child care version of the free throw.
Jordan is faithful: “Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too. ” Are you being consistent? He was. Keep going. Get better, focus on the fundamentals.
Some folks have a hard time seeing themselves as Michael Jordan. OK, fine. You don’t want to be the icon of excellence. It can be scary to reach that high. How about trying to be his coach? A lot of what you do is coaching the staff, parents & children. The coach he credits with getting him to excellence was University of North Carolina Coach, Dean Smith. “Other than my parents, no one had a bigger influence on my life than Coach Smith. He was more than a coach – he was my mentor, my teacher, my second father. Coach was always there for me whenever I needed him and I loved him for it. In teaching me the game of basketball, he taught me about life.” Can you be Coach Smith? “I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else’s talent.” Be the base for your people to reach excellence.
If you need a coach of your own, so that you can get your center court moment, I am here for you. Coaching & training is what I do. Get your Michael Jordan Moment!
Focus on the fundamentals. Get a coach if you need one. Practice. Evaluate. Do it again. Then when it is game time, you will shoot the game winning shot. Stand your ground & take your shot.