The role of a Head Start or Early Head Start director is demanding and complex. While keeping one foot in the local community service area and the other foot in the federal political arena, the director faces the challenge of providing expanded programming to clients with ever increasing needs with fewer and more competitive government dollars. This phenomenon forces management to create different and innovative methods of service delivery to accommodate the forecasted trends and changes in client and/or customer needs as well as the political and social climate associated with the trends and changes.
Managing change, therefore, particularly in the delivery of high quality, effective, and efficient services to clients/customers is an essential skill to be added in the director's overall toolbox. To manage organizational change effectively, the director must provide a work atmosphere that promotes innovation and entrepreneurial thinking by:
- displaying the behavior her/himself,
- learning and applying new tools and methods for promoting the behavior and values to employees and clients,
- and developing internal systems that are flexible and support the new thinking towards continuous program improvement.
Many Head Start and Early Head Start Directors leave their own personal professional development plans on the back burner while the rest of their staff enjoy the benefits of training and education customized to their individual needs. However, to learn about new tools and methods for managing in this ever-changing environment, it's absolutely essential that directors take the time and resources needed to enhance their skills and knowledge in the areas of change management, organizational development, strategic planning, benchmarking, and evaluation to name a few.
The demand on directors to provide leadership and direction during a time of change brings with it a host of challenges. Therefore, it is vital that directors assess their current set of skills and knowledge, compare that skill set to those needed to manage effectively, and aggressively seek out opportunities for professional development. See Head Start Director Core Competencies and Knowledge, Information and Skills to Support the Role of the Head Start/Early Head Director.
