Each session will include opportunities for participants to ask questions, share their unique challenges, as well as explore new ideas through small group work and role plays.
If you cannot attend all 4 sessions, you can still register and attend the ones that will work for your schedule.
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Session 1: Introduction to Effective Leadership in Early Childhood Settings
We begin our course with the concept of being an accidental leader (have you ever heard of “imposter syndrome?”) and how gaining both skills and confidence over the next few months will make us feel so much better in our leadership roles. Then we will talk about how leading and managing are different, and how they also overlap. As an introduction, we will explore how skilled leaders impacts both employee engagement and retention. The session wraps up with five ways to become a stronger leader in early childhood settings.
Upcoming Sessions:
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Session 2: Leadership Styles and Employee Performance Management
Did you know that there is no one “best” style of leadership for you to use at work everyday? In this session we’ll explore three very different styles of leadership (including two different types of coaching). We’ll do a deep dive into what each style looks like and how to make sure we choose the style that best matched typical situations we encounter at work. In a small group, you will do a series of mini-case studies that will help you apply what you have learned with real-life situations.
Wednesday, November 18, 2026
Session 3: Giving Feedback and Having Courageous Conversations (without making things worse!)
In our third session we will discuss why we sometimes avoid giving feedback and how we can become more brave! You will learn how to give effective feedback (using T3 – Tact, Tone, and Timing). Together we will practice how to get started and exactly what to say when giving feedback. Then we will shift gears to an 8 Step Approach to having difficult or challenging (or courageous!) conversations with peers, your manager, parents, or colleagues in other organizations. You’ll watch a funny and very educational video with communication expert, Shari Harley, author of How to Talk to Anyone about Anything.
Wednesday, December 16, 2026
Session 4: New Employee Onboarding, Progressive Discipline & Retaining Great People
We’ll lead off our last session with 10 best practices for onboarding (or orientation as it is sometimes called) new employees. No surprise: getting onboarding right makes a huge impact on keeping great people! We’ll shift to learning about the steps of progressive discipline and the specifics of how to do written and verbal warnings correctly. In addition, we’ll discover how to get employees off the roller coaster of doing better after feedback and then backsliding. To wrap up the course, we’ll walk through the 10 practical ways to improve retention. You’ll leave with some solid strategies to help you create a culture that your best people will never want to leave!
*Please note that the zoom link will be sent out to participants prior to the session date
This event is being delivered by an external organization from the County of Wellington and as such your name and email address may be provided to the third party for attendance and training purposes. The County of Wellington is not responsible for the content, privacy policies, or security practices of this external organization. You are encouraged to review the privacy policy and terms of use of this external site/organization as they may differ from those of the County of Wellington.
