Leadership Lessons from a Day in Kindergarten

Guest Post By: Michael Walters
Executive Vice President, HR
​Genoa Healthcare

Recently I spent an afternoon volunteering in my son’s kindergarten class. By the end of it I found myself exhausted and covered in glitter—surprising because we weren’t doing arts and crafts. 

The teacher was masterful. She managed these different, little personalities who would become excited or frustrated at the drop of a hat. And she blended individual attention with entire class-wide instructions to make sure the lessons were progressing.

Quite a bit about what I’ve learned about leadership in a corporate environment I saw play out in micro-instances with these little people right before my eyes.

Below are some thoughts:

• Managing the Energy Level. When the energy and noise level shot up, the teacher would soften her words and tone in speaking with the class. The class calmed down a little. And when the class was quietly paying attention and locked in, she might dial up her expressiveness. It reminded me that it is important not to always match the high intensity that a team can generate but to occasionally offer a counter balance. Momentum can sometimes carry you away or rush a decision. It’s important to make decisions in a calm, measured state of mind.

• Influencing Strategies: There were three obvious influence strategies on display in the classroom. There were rewards for good behavior and punishment/consequences for those who did not follow the rules. But those were not the only two strategies relied on by the teacher. She always made a point to explain why she was asking the kiddos to do something. “Billy, it is important not to talk when others are reading because they may not be able to concentrate on what they are trying to do. And it is important to be able to treat others the way that we want to be treated.” This enabled them to comprehend why it was important to comply… versus doing so simply because the teacher told them or for the promise of a reward that may not always be there in the future.  Companies spend billions each year on incentive programs for their employees. Rewards can be a powerful motivator. But it is important to also share information and explain decision making rationale to teams if you want behavior to truly change. Especially in clear language that is consistent and easily understood.

• Show Your Passion: These kids would yell ‘yahooooooo’ when they got an answer correct and beam with pride upon being given a compliment. It was great to see the raw emotion of these little humans. There were no classmates or colleagues. Everyone was a ‘friend.’ Everyone shared. Everyone said thank you when someone did something nice. Everyone seemed as excited when someone else achieved something as they were for themselves. While it is important to maintain professionalism and appropriate boundaries… we are still individuals. We have highs and lows at work. There is nothing wrong with getting excited about even the littlest of wins. And the best of times are often made better when you can share with your teammates.

• Rules are Important: There were clear rules in the classroom. Only three friends at the art station at a time. Walking only in the classroom. Sharing is caring. Each of the kids knew the rules. They had been stressed since day one. Because they knew the rules, they could trust their friends would follow them as well. As such, there was a sense of safety that the order provided.  When I reflect back on some of the more chaotic professional cultures I have worked in, there was no feeling of safety or trust. I didn’t know what success looked like or what types of behavior would be rewarded. I didn’t know what the rules were. Whenever I onboard to a new team, one of the first things I emphasize is my own personal leadership tenets. The cultural characteristics I will reward during performance reviews and actively hire for when recruiting. Those are my rules and expectations for how we will behave toward one another. Then we can innovate safely and let the best ideas win.

So, those were some of my key takeaways. Yes, that is me wearing the Piggie hat from story time with my little guy. It is important to be silly every once in a while. Keeps you young at heart. 

Oh, and we should find a teacher to thank every day. It’s a hard job with insufficient recognition and monetary reward. Let’s arm them with our appreciation for the work they do every day preparing our next generation of leaders.