Leadership Profiles – Gillian Somers
- Your Leadership Journey
What inspired you to become a leader, and how has your leadership style evolved over time?
Truthfully, sometimes it feels like you end up in this role because you are the last man standing!
More seriously though, I have always tried to live by the motto “Be the change you want to see in the world”. I was fortunate to have an inspiring and nurturing leader when I first started my teaching journey. Her vision for the school shaped who I became as a teacher and her vision became my vision. When the time came for her to retire, I felt I had two choices: I could leave it up to chance and see what the next leader brought in; or I could take the lead myself. Having witnessed another centre go through a leadership change that had decimated their culture and values, I felt like the choice was made for me.
Taking on the leadership mantel was a shock to the system. I discovered that the skill set that had got me to that point, was not necessarily the skill set that would help me succeed in the leadership role. It was a very steep learning curve. The highs were high, but equally, the lows were low.
I am not a naturally decisive person and I don’t like confrontation. Overtime, however, I have come to realise that it is more respectful to be clear in my messages and expectations than to leave people uncertain. People want to do a good job, if that is not happening then it is because I am not being clear on what ‘Good’ looks like here. That was a tough lesson to learn – and like many of the lessons I have learnt along the way, it is one I continue to learn.
Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum is an amazing document, and I have come to appreciate it that it is as relevant to how I support our kaiako as to how they support and foster ngā tamariki. Just as for the tamariki, Wellbeing has to come first – Kaiako need to feel that this is a safe place; followed by Belonging – where they begin to feel like this is their place. If we can get this in place, then we will see Contribution shining through where you really see that sense of being a team and our success being dependent on that of the whole team. Finally, there are the pinnacles of Communication and Exploration. Under the communication umbrella, I see kaiako sharing and articulating their philosophy and practice, as well as seeking out other ideas to enhance their practice; while Exploration encompasses all the creativity, competence and confidence that kaiako develop.
I guess, in the end, my leadership style has evolved to appreciate that the skills I learned to support children’s development actually are really relevant to the role I do today in supporting a team.
- Vision & Impact
What drives you as a leader, and how do you ensure your vision positively impacts staff and students?
Montessori philosophy drives my vision for our centre and for me as a person. It is such a blessing to have a strong philosophical base which likewise resonates with my team and with our whānau. The vision is greater than I am, and my staff can articulate it as well as, if not better, than I can. They want this vision as much as I do.
That vision is not just for our centre but for society. Montessori’s vision was for Education for Peace. Now more than ever, we can see the need for that and that if we want a peaceful world, the best way to gain that is to raise children in an environment of respect so that they grow up with respect in their DNA. It is hard to change the mind of an adult, it is hard for us to see our own biases. In so much as it is the adult who raises the child, it is the child who is the father of the adult to come. What drives me, is the desire to live in a more peaceful, just and respectful world.
- Coaching & Mentoring
How has mentoring or coaching influenced your leadership, and what do you find most rewarding about developing others?
One thing that I feel is not done well in the early childhood sector is the nurturing and mentoring of leaders. In the compulsory sector, there is an Aspiring Principals course, supporting the development of the skills and knowledge necessary prior to taking on the leadership mantel. Likewise, a New Principals group supports the beginning principal navigate the role.
In early childhood, it is more often a case of sink or swim. Nearby centres can be in competition with each other too which make developing a support network harder to find and access. Go on to the pages of social media and you don’t have to look too hard to find a beginning centre manager crying out for support and help.
Coaching and mentoring have deeply influenced my leadership – from being coached and mentored as part as a succession plan long before I considered that this was in my future, to being supported when I embarked on the journey, and I took those first few steps.
Tuakana Teina relationships are such a fundamental part of our sector and once again, I see the similarities here for the kaiako too. In a tuakana teina relationship, it can be hard to articulate who gets more out of the relationship: the teina who is inspired and nurtured by the tuakana; or the tuakana who in the process of mentoring, deepens their own learning. I see this with the tamariki, and I see this with kaiako. I have been as shaped by those whom I mentored as I have been by those who mentored me.
To use another analogy of how what I learned working with children has influenced how I work with adults, coaching and mentoring has helped me see that on the whole most of the people, most of the time, are trying to do a good job. Behaviour is communication – when things are not working well, it is because there is a knowledge or skill gap or because the environmental conditions are note supporting the desired behaviour. When working with others, more often I see what it is that I need to work on in order to support their development – and when it works well, it is the best feeling in the world watching your team grown and strengthen (and strengthen and grow you).
- Leading Change
Can you share a time when you led a significant change? What challenges did you face, and what did you learn?
There are a few times that really stand out for me. Leading the team through Covid times was both one of the most challenging and also one of the most rewarding experiences.
During this time, I really learned (what I had supposed already learned) about the importance of being aware of how I set the tone and how much this influenced how others showed up. I had gained practice in leading change when we went through a significant building project. If covid was flying the plane as we were designing it, that experience had been akin to repairing the plane midair as we were still flying it. I didn’t appreciate at the time, but it provided a valuable training ground such as making sure our cabin crew where in place (the kaiako); that passengers/community was on board; and that we had all the policies and procedures for the new flight path/set of circumstances. I learned (again this is a lesson that I need to keep learning – that the pilot needs to be well rested and ready to take on the arduous task of flying the plane – and that the pilot can’t do it alone.
Armed with that learning, covid was not as daunting as it might have been, so I guess I also learned that by ensuring the right steps are in place, that we can tackle change and hardship and come out stronger for it.
- Wellbeing & Resilience
How do you manage the pressures of leadership while maintaining your own wellbeing and support
Leadership can be a very lonely place so I needed to find my support network, I needed to upskill myself and I needed to build a team around me that could complement by areas of strength but also my challenge areas. I needed to work on leadership, and I needed to work on myself. Being on the national Montessori Association board has supported me to develop those skills as well as provided me with my support group too. I am fortunate that we also have a regional network of centre managers that tries to meet once a term and that I know I can call on for advice and support if needed.
Surround myself with good staff, invest in them, empower them – when we are all heading in the same direction, we can all help to carry the load and support each other.
Remember that there’s more to me than this role so making time to find my outlets that fill my cup (this is a work in progress) and remember the power of deep breadths and not to take myself too seriously.
Next Steps for Growth
Based on your reflections, what are one or two key areas you’d like to focus on in your leadership development?
As I said above, some of the leadership lessons are lifelong lessons and ones I need to learn over and over again. I am still learning organisational skills. It may seem a bit shallow but one of the things that I really want to work on is clearing the pile of papers on my desk – because that would signify, I have completed some long overdue longstanding tasks or made some challenging decisions that have been hanging over me, or decided to shelve some others. It would mean that I had carved out the time to file but also to read and digest, reflect and write the action list of the important and not just the urgent. I suspect it is a long-term goal, but I am still a work in progress!