Management versus Leadership Tutor: Maureen McLachlan

Distinctions Debates have been conducted on the distinctions to be made between present-orientated management and future-orientated leadership (Bloom, 1997; Rodd, 1996) Daly et al (2004:4) state that ‘there has been a great deal of research and debate into the possible differences between leadership and management in the early years sector’ and go on to simplify the differences as;

Management versus Leadership Management is operational – it deals with the organisation of people and resources Leadership is to inspire and influence the vision to meet future challenges It is evident that managers and leaders in the childcare/social-care sectors work in a variety of contexts and perform many different roles (Daly et al, 2004)

Leadership Rodd (2006) suggests that there is increasing public interest in leadership however there are conflicting and confusing signals about the place of the leader in particular within the childcare/training agendas What are your thoughts on this?

Leadership Kofi Annan (Secretary General on the United Nations) considers that ‘of all the lessons in the past decade, the critical role of leadership is perhaps the most important one to take with us into the new century. Leadership is imperative if we are to improve the lives of children, families and communities’ (2002:6)

A Slow Pace Rodd (2006) argues that revising theory, practice and policy is slow Why may this be so and can you think what training is available to Manager and Leaders in the Early Years sector?

References Annan, K. (2002) ‘Foreward’, The state of the world’s children 2002, Leadership. UNICEF: New York. Bloom, P. (1997) Navigating the rapids: directors reflect on their career and professional development, Young Children, 52(7): 32-38. Daly, M,. et al. (2004) Early Years Management in Practice. London: Pearson Education Limited. Rodd, J. (2006) Leadership in Early Childhood, 3rd ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Rodd, J. (1996) Towards a typology of leadership for the early childhood professional of the 21st century, Early Childhood Development and care, 120: 119-126.