WHO GETS TO SAY ‘WELL DONE’? EXCHANGEEVERYDAY JULY 13, 2009 Defining Success

Child care is a loving and nurturing field, but it is also a business. You can do both successfully without compromising either. Gigi Schweikert from her book, Teacher Tips

Strategic Steps toward Quality In his presentation entitled "Quality in organizations large and small" at the 2008 Working Forum for Multi-Site Organizations, Bob Siegel talked about taking strategic steps toward quality.

Set up your definition of success Siegel observed: "It’s essential for your organization and for your people to ask and answer the question: How will we know when we get there?

Self-define their own points of success This ability to have people self-define their own points of success will increase their investment. At some level, we all work harder and more passionately when we’ve set out our own goals. Now, we truly own those goals.

The process of having people discuss the details that actually operationalize a concept start to make it real for everyone. Now, it’s something that we as a group decided for ourselves, not another rule, regulation, or standard handed down to us. Again, we own it.

How will we know when we get there? Asking 'How will we know when we get there?' is a conversational way of getting to measurable objectives and benchmark setting through a more comfortable conversation. You still get to those important junctures, but the ease and comfort of the conversation makes everyone a contributor... and owner.

What could possibly screw it up? Lastly, the final element of this step is asking the question; 'Okay, I think we’ve got it. Now, what could possibly screw it up?' This becomes a tremendously robust query at the (perceived) end of this defining quality conversation. Then you list all the things that can get in the way and begin to brainstorm ways of defeating each of these obstacles. What a powerful process for a planning group and its members to go through!" Bob Siegel (2008)

Leadership In her article, "Spreading the Wealth: Leadership at all Levels," in the July 2009 issue of Exchange and available on our website, Debra Sullivan answers questions about growing staff to assume leadership roles. For example, she provides this answer to the question, "How do we motivate staff to grow professionally?“

Need to know In our [Panel of 300] discussion, one participant quoted Piaget as having said, 'You don’t learn something until you see a need to know it.' The concept of motivation — extrinsic and intrinsic — fits in here. Extrinsic motivation is when individuals are motivated by the need to receive rewards or punishments to alter their behavior. Intrinsic motivation is when individual’s behavior arises from his or her own needs, not how others will respond. To motivate staff extrinsically, you need only to know what reward or punishment will make them do as you wish.

Intrinsic growth "To motivate staff to grow intrinsically, as with mentoring, you must first know what individuals want for themselves and for their future. Motivation occurs when a staff member sees a future possibility and wants to get there. “We work really hard to get what we want.

"Whenever you want to motivate your staff, help them get where they really want to go. You will find that motivating them to grow professionally will be surprisingly easy.“ Debra Sullivan (2009)

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