Ethical leadership in early years settings

The chapter begins by determining the difference between leadership and management then explores the relationship of leaders and followers in educational settings. Effective leaders, it is concluded, are those whose influence is more important than merely the formal authority their post commands. Leadership in early years settings faces an ethical challenge: a balance needs to be struck between satisfying the needs of the community the organisation seeks to serve and the demands of funding agencies. Leaders in early years settings need clarity of vision particularly in regard to core purposes. Once established, those become the driving force and template for decision-making. The task of the formal leader becomes to fulfil the need to build leadership capacity with other staff in order to deliver that vision to the highest level. The chapter concludes by illustrating the way in which the formal leader has to become a ‘second-order practitioner’, in which situation agreed objectives are achieved with and through others