Article Link: http://stage.exchangepress.com/article/ten-teamwork-terminators-and-some-sure-cures-the-leaders-role-in-making-the-team-work/5008605/
Teamwork is one of those all-American concepts like motherhood, apple pie, and developmentally appropriate practice. No director should lead on without it.How to be a team builder was the focus of a Child Care Information Exchange management retreat in Hawaii in February of this year. Participating directors shared a wide range of experiences and insights at this retreat, and these form the basis of this article.
One interesting insight at the retreat was that, as much as a director may want her staff to function as a team, she may be the biggest stumbling block to making it happen. Participants identified ten behaviors that directors may engage in that unwittingly undermine team performance, as well as some keys to making the team work.
1. Playing Favorites
Nothing sours team spirit more quickly than a perception that some team members enjoy a privileged status. If you consistently single out one or two teachers for praise, give them preferential treatment in scheduling, or tend to seek their input more than anyone else's, other staff members will feel more like outsiders than team members.
2. Tolerating Laxity
If one staff member frequently arrives late, fails to help with clean up, or is lax ...