Practical strategies to grow empowering organisations and systems

Alicia Marshall

Yuma, hello and welcome today, everybody, to our concurrent session, Practical strategies to grow empowering organisations and systems. My name is Alicia Marshall and I'm a Be You consultant with Early Childhood Australia, and also an early childhood educator and leader. With me today is my colleague, Kylie Pearce, the Founder and Team Director for Urban Education early learning centre in Canberra. 

Kylie Pearce

Hey Alicia, thanks for having me. It's great to be here today. Little nervous.
 

Alicia Marshall

We're both a little nervous, but we're hoping today is going to be really accessible and everybody can connect with a little bit of what we're saying today. We're going to aim to explore a range of practical strategies that will support early learning leaders with the development and continual improvement of empowered organisational cultures. We're very much going to have a bit of a conversation, both together, but also with you all out there joining us today. So please feel free to contribute to our conversation as we go, throughout the next 15 minutes. We're aiming to reflect and consider the role that empowerment can play in promoting mental health and wellbeing in your learning community. 

Both Kylie and I would like to Acknowledge that we're meeting on the Lands of the Ngunnawal People here in the ACT, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present. We Acknowledge their ongoing contribution to our community through their culture and also Acknowledged that there is a current Ngunnawal language revival project being undertaken. I said Yuma at the top of today's session, which is hello with the current language for revival. We acknowledge that there's lots of you joining us from all over Australia today. And if yesterday's anything to go by, even from across the world. So we'd love for you to Acknowledge, in a way that you feel comfortable, the Traditional Custodians of the Land that you sit on. Feel free to share with us in the discussion forum. And of course, if you have any questions for Kylie and I throughout today, make use of that live Q and A box.

You've probably seen this infographic a few times throughout the conference, over the last couple of days and today is no different. We aim to make today a really safe space for us to have a conversation, a discussion and reflection. Please share your ideas, thoughts and reflections with us in the discussion forum. And we'll hopefully get them through to us here in the studio to be able to comment. Make use of the live Q and A, as I said, if you've got any questions for Kylie or myself. However, when you're sharing today, please only share that which you feel comfortable with. And just be mindful of confidentiality and privacy, both of what you share as well as what's shared by your colleagues today. There's going to be a few reflective questions that I'm going to pose to Kylie and to you guys as well. Please share with us. And we'll also have a few polls for you to engage with. If anything is a little confronting or challenging from today's session or any of the other sessions throughout the conference, please make sure that you access support. There are several numbers that you can see on your screen now. And if you're interested in this infographic, hopefully, a link to the infographic is being shared in the discussion forum with you now.

I'd also like to acknowledge that we're very, very busy in the early learning sector here at the moment, like most moments. But we really want to acknowledge the time that you've taken and the effort that you've made to come and share with us today and we really appreciate your time and anything that you'd like to share with us.

Alright. You've probably seen this a little bit throughout the last two days, but just for anyone who may not have joined us already, Be You as a national mental health initiative for educators who care and educate for children from birth all the way through to 18 years of age. Led by Beyond Blue and in partnership with Early Childhood Australia and headspace, it is funded and so free of charge to all of you out there. It's available for every educator, early learning service and school. And we'll empower you to build your mental health literacy and support children's social and emotional wellbeing. The vision is about building a positive, inclusive and resilient community where every single member; children, educators, family members and other community members can achieve their best possible mental health. 

So for any of you who visited the website, you'll see that there is a range of different resources that you can access that will support you in this particular journey. And for anyone who's registered as a whole learning community. There's an additional range of tools and resources to support implementation across a whole of learning community setting.

You would have seen some of these resources shared throughout the conference and we'll aim to do so with you here today. But of course, visit our website at beyou.edu.au for any further information. And remember to use the hashtag beyouvirtual to share your journey with all of us.

All right onto today. Enough of me talking a little bit. We're going to look and describe the concept of an empowered organisation. We're going to explore a range of practical strategies and systems for creating and maintaining empowered organisations. We'll unpack the role of leaders in building this organisational culture. And then understand the benefits that an empowered organisation can play in mental health and wellbeing.

Alright. Our first reflective questions of the day to all of you and to Kylie, I'm really keen to know what comes to mind when you think of that term  empowered organisation.

Kylie Pearce

Well, when I think of the term empowered organisation, I think of a team that wants to be here. Where we're all considered equal and there's no hierarchy. A team that wants to come up and show up every day. We focus on each other's individual strengths, we support everyone's career aspirations and it's empowering for everyone, the staff, the children, the families and the community members. 

Alicia Marshall

I really love that. I found myself nodding and almost going mmm, but trying to be quiet at the same time. So everyone could hear you talking. I think for me, what really comes out of what you've just said is that idea around a distributed concept of power. That there wasn't a hierarchy and that everybody's empowered to feel like they're an equal member and to contribute. 

I think ultimately what comes up for me is some of the definitions of empowerment. And we're just getting the discussion forum brought up for us so that I can see some of what you're saying as well.
So I can see the ideas about everyone being supported, shared decision-making, a really great idea. Working together for a common goal, and that's a really big one. Thank you, Lynn.

When we look at the definitions of an empowered organisation, one of the things that comes up is this process of becoming stronger and more confident. So for an individual, that ability to control your own life and claiming your own rights. When we look at the psychology definition, the psychological definition of empowerment, it's around intrinsic task motivation and reflecting on that sense of self control in relation to your own work and your work role. So I see what's coming through in the discussion forum as well, is that idea around autonomy and collaboration. An individual's sense of agency and having the ability to make those decisions, shared decision making was something that came up a bit before, too. Then we start thinking, if we're having agency and autonomy over decision making, there's that concept of shared responsibility, distributed responsibility, that not one person is ultimately responsible. And if everybody has a shared sense of responsibility, they've got a greater level of ownership over the achieved goal or end outcome.

The other thing that comes up for me there is that idea of trust. So if we're all going to have an aspect to play, and we're all going to share that responsibility, we have to be able to trust one another as well. And thank you to everybody who's still popping through their ideas. It's great to see you all contributing to today's conversation. The other thing that I can see there is everyone being equal, which is a great idea.

So, now we're going to start a poll. Let's keep your contributions rolling. I'm keen to know as a team, how often do you actively consider and discuss aspects of empowerment at your place? You can see there's a couple of options up on the screen. Please just select one or if one doesn't suit, share with us your response in the discussion forum. Whilst we're waiting for those answers to come through, Kylie, you founded Urban Education early learning centre, at what point did you consider empowerment?

Kylie Pearce

Oh, easy, from the beginning. I was never going to be able to achieve what we wanted on my own. I knew I needed an awesome team behind me. I've had previous experience in workplaces where empowerment wasn't considered for employees. I wanted my team to have a voice. Each member of my team is valued. I believe success can only have a, can only occur, sorry, when a team of empowered individuals work together and everyone gets to contribute. Our service philosophy advocates for each other, especially encouraging openness and honesty. And having that effective communication and that positive workplace culture is always positive.

Alicia Marshall

Thank you. I think what I took away from that was that idea that success can only happen if everybody's a contributing member. That was something that really stood out for me in what you've just said. 

And I'm having a look at our poll results now. We might end that poll so that we can have a look at the final outcomes. Thank you very much. I can see that most people are yet to consider the ideas around empowerment, 36%. Thank you for being honest and reflective. I think both Kylie and I are great believers in critical reflection and honesty, so it's wonderful that everybody shared with us. It's good to see that there are a significant portion of you who've considered empowerment for your team as well. And hopefully throughout today's conversation, you'll get some further ideas on how to implement that at your place. Thank you everybody who participated in that.

So, taking that idea about success is only capable if everybody in the team participates. Kylie, back to you, how do you get everyone to proactively contribute and actually want to be a part of that team?

Kylie Pearce

For us at Urban, we develop the relationships and connections right from the very beginning from the interview phase. We learn about the individual, their goals, aspirations, the character, the personality types. We ask questions like, what they feel is the most important aspect of a team is, what they feel their biggest strength is, or asset, that they can bring to the team. It helps us to see if they're able to fit in with our team philosophy and how we can support them as an individual. So, yeah.

Alicia Marshall

Thanks so much for sharing with that, Kylie. I think when listening to what you were just saying, it really comes down to that idea of adult learning principles. And I know when Kylie and I were initially having a conversation to prepare for today's session, she, I just asked her some generic questions and as she was talking, it really made me think about what theoretical perspective was behind some of these ideas that Kyla was implementing at her place. And adult learning principles and adult learning theory was absolutely the thing that stood out for me. 

We know that adults learn very differently to children. And wanting adults to engage in that concept is a bit of a different process. And from what Kylie was talking about, that idea of immediately connecting to a person's individual aspirations and goals. Automatically identifying their passions and then also talking to them about what their idea of being a team means. Really was going through a process of connecting that individual to a purpose. Clarifying and communicating the why or the vision, both for Kylie's overall organisation, Urban Education, but also for each of those individuals who came to interview with her. She was supporting them to understand how they could connect to the overall service philosophy.

The next thing that I sort of picked up from a lot of that was about that learner self-concept. You really took the time to understand each individual and how they would be supported in your ways of working. So it wasn't that one size model fits all, you really took in that idea of finding a connection to each individual and how they were going to support and contribute to your overall team. And I can see that Hayley's just shared in the discussion forum a link to the adult learning principles in our Be You Share and Extend Guide. If you're curious to learn a little bit more about this after today.

The other thing that I think about when you're talking about a learner self-concept, is building an individual self-awareness, too, about their own ways of learning and their own passions and strengths and the areas in which we can improve, too, because we're also about continuous improvement. So by asking those questions in the interview process, you were supporting them to build that self-awareness and for them to establish those understandings of their own ways of learning. In a sense, you were supporting their readiness to learn by helping them identify what it was that they wanted to learn and the ways in which they wanted to learn as well.

The other thing that I really love about what you were doing there is you are automatically talking about the motivation of self-improvement. That that was something that's ultimately valued at your organisation, and expected from anyone who contributes as a member of your team. So supporting everybody to automatically understand how they would engage in self-improvement or continuous improvement, both for themselves as individuals but then also for the overall organisation.

When we think of some of those other adult learning principles, one of the things that really stands out to me that's quite different from the way that children learn, is that concept of using prior experience. We know that for adults, we ultimately need to see a relevance to how new learning connects to what we already know and how it's going to benefit us immediately in the short term, and then also in the long term. So I'm curious to understand a little bit more, Kylie, in our initial conversations preparing for today, you were talking about one of your continuous improvement methods and how you invite members of your team to actually take ownership over a specific quality improvement goal on your QIP and that you support them to then share with the rest of your team in a team planning session or a team workshop. Can you share a little bit more about this?

Kylie Pearce

Well, yeah, overall what's more empowering then doing something that you're absolutely passionate about. And can be supported in within our workplace. So an example, we have an educator that is extremely passionate about trauma enforced practices and so they are now leading the way in developing and implementing our new behaviour guidance policy and procedure.

We have another team member that's an absolute gun with nutrition, and has been led to establish workshops to enhance our team's understanding around nutrition and asthma and anaphylaxis practices.

But as I mentioned earlier, with our philosophy, we value and advocate for a culture of continuous improvement from everyone and encourage everyone, each other, sorry, to respectfully challenge and question one another on any given circumstance.

Alicia Marshall

Sorry, I just realised that I didn't change the slides for Kylie there. She's done very well remembering off the top of her head.  I think what I took away from what you were talking about just then, and one of the things that really stood out in my time visiting you and your team, was that in this process of developing a quality improvement goal based off someone's individual strengths and interests and passions, and then supporting them to create their own journey, you were ultimately focusing on an end goal, rather than the steps that you would take to get to that goal. And if we think about that, ultimately what it does is it provides that individual, that group of people, with a sense of agency and autonomy over the implementation of continuous improvement.

So for me, that automatically says less micro-managing for yo, because you're not expecting a pathway or certain steps on how a goal is going to be achieved. You're ultimately giving the responsibility to your team members to create a journey or a pathway that works for them in their ways of learning and engaging.

Thinking about that, too, your team members have that sense of ownership over what it is that they're aiming to achieve both for themselves and the organisation. So they have a greater stake in it being successful. And they've got a greater sense of responsibility in it becoming successful.

The other thing that I sort of looked at there was your ideas of two way learning concept. You're not the keeper of all of the knowledge, as the leader of your organisation. That you very much understand that learning is two ways and you will learn from your team just as much as they will learn from you in this process of continuous improvement.

The other thing that I really loved there was that you use the terminology of team workshops as opposed to staff meetings or anything like that, which automatically is a greater level of inclusive language, I felt.

And I can see that we've got a comment in the discussion forum about, great to hear support for the team and shared information is beneficial for everybody. Absolutely. We know that in order to achieve goals and continuous improvement ideas, that it actually takes a whole of learning community to be able to achieve that. One person cannot implement that across a whole team. So when you've got a whole team contributing to the same ideas, you're more than likely to have successful application.

Kylie Pearce

And it develops their confidence as an individual. 

Alicia Marshall

Yeah, absolutely. I love that. 

One of the other things that I sort of thought about in what you were talking about there, was some of Erin Eatough's work. She is a PhD Doctorate in the Psychology of Occupational Health. She's actually got a really fabulous blog that lists it down to seven easy steps on how to create an empowered organisation. But in a lot of her work, one of the things that she talks about is this idea for advocating for open and honest feedback and communication systems. And I can see that someone else's as tagged in with me right there too, that authenticity as well, transparency, being really open and honest. But allowing that for everybody within your team.

Kylie, you used that term respectfully challenging one another, which just had a little buzz for me. And I'm keen to hear more about that. How do you actually support your team in feeling confident enough to respectfully challenge each other?

Kylie Pearce

Like, I guess it just comes down to supporting their own individual development of confidence as a team member. And of course having an open door policy.

Alicia Marshall

Yeah. I can actually very much attest to Kylie's open door policy. When I was visiting her at her service, having a bit of a yarn about today's session, we did have the door closed because we were very deep in reflective conversation and thought, and we could hear a little knock at the door at one point and a parent, very kindly and respectfully, "oh okay, come on, come on. We've got to go, the door's closed." But this little person was not very happy with that answer. Once they got outside to the gate, we could see them through the window, shaking on the gate, trying to get Kylie's attention. Genuinely really confused at why the door was closed and they couldn't come in and have a conversation with you about their end of day. So I can absolutely attest to Kylie's open door policy.

Going back to our adult learning principles and thinking about what you've just sort of said there, Kylie about this respectfully challenging one another. I think what I'm hearing there is this idea about acknowledging mistakes. Just as much as acknowledging successful achievement as well. That idea that mistakes are valued as a part of the learning process. And by having the opportunity to feel vulnerable and support one another in growing and learning, you're building this idea of a growth mindset amongst your team, who then feel confident enough to be able to make those mistakes and to take on those challenges to work towards an overall end goal.

I can also hear that you're building in a learner self-concept, with their ability to choose their methods of engagement and learning. So that idea of supporting them to feel capable and acknowledged in their chosen ways. And we do know that adult learners truly value more modern ways of learning and engaging. And that they're quite practical and goal orientated. They really need to understand how this is going to be beneficial for them in the relevancy of their own successes and goals.

Kylie, you mentioned in our conversations your belief in acknowledging each individual and recognising them for their work and efforts. And you mentioned your idea of team shout outs. I'm keen to hear a little bit more about that.

Kylie Pearce

Oh, well our team shout outs were born from wanting, or the want, to acknowledge the efforts and achievements of our individual team members or teams in general. People should be credited for the work they put in each and every day. It may seem small to others, but to an individual acknowledgments are everything.

We, Urban I should say, our team was recently awarded the Local Business Award, Small Business of the Year for early education centre. And I was so incredibly proud that, and elated, that the team were able to be given recognition and acknowledged for everything they put in each and every day.

Alicia Marshall

Yeah. I know that Kylie's a little bit humble, but she's very, very proud of her team out at Urban for the Small Business Award. And I remember when we were preparing today's speech, you actually didn't want to include that. And I was very adamant about including that recognising both yourself as a leader and the culture that you're creating, but also the team and the work that everybody's put towards creating empowered atmosphere.

And I can see that we've had a question come through from the live Q and A. And so I'm keen to hear your thoughts, and I'll add some as well. What if you are inexperienced but feel like the environment is toxic. What are your ideas? 

Kylie Pearce

Everyone needs to be- I have a, everyone should be offered the chance of succession. You need to, you should be able to have the confidence to go to somebody to be supported by somebody in your workplace. I know there's plenty of external places that are able to offer support for early education  professionals if you're not feeling that you're being heard in your place of work. But yeah, it's finding the right balance, it's finding someone that you can have those conversations with so that you can reach out if need be, because we all need somebody to lean on. Here and there.

Alicia Marshall

Yeah, absolutely. I think the other thing that I would probably add is, as an individual, you and your personal philosophy need to also have connection to the overall service's philosophy. And that's why we do that in early learning, because there are various services that have different beliefs and ways of working as well. So, when you're engaging in the concept of entering a workplace, make sure that you have a look at the service's philosophy, you have conversations with the leadership team to ascertain whether it truly is the right space for you to be a part of and you can envision yourself contributing to. If you are already within a workplace that you do feel is toxic, as Kylie said, make sure that you understand your rights and your responsibilities, to the areas in which you can access support. Most places do have a EAP, an employee assistance program, but of course, if your service is one that doesn't have access to that, we had that mental health support services infographic at the top of today's session with various helplines that you can access to be able to speak to someone to gain further support and suggestions on what you might be able to do.

My strong belief is that you do need to feel like you have an element of psychological safety, and if that's something that's not available to you, then you might want to consider what methods you have within your control to start looking at that. And having conversations with your team members to maybe have some discussion around what empowerment means. It could be something as simple as asking to share in a team workshop or a staff meeting a conversation about what everybody's definition of empowerment is, and, and start with those conversations right there.

I can see another question that's come through in the live Q and A, which we might answer before we move on to the next part. Growth mindset. Are we referring to Dr. Dweck's research. Yes, that is absolutely what we were referring to there.

Alright. Now we're going to move on to the role of a leader in that concept of empowered organisations. And we are running ahead of time today, so feel free to keep throwing us those questions because we would love to hear from you and be able to comment.

Some of the ideas, if you've been paying attention, we've probably already spoken a little bit about the role of the leader and the element that they have to play in an empowered organisation. Some of the things that we've discussed there are open communication and transparency. The other thing that's probably really important, there, is the clarification of expectations and roles. 

If everybody's very thoroughly aware of what is expected of them and the role that they play within the overall team, we're more than likely to have success because everybody's automatically aware of the position that they play.

Other things that we've spoken about, Kyle, you mentioned that idea of distributed leadership. So minimising of the hierarchy, really establishing a sense of responsibility for everybody as a team member. And an overall commitment to achieving goals, encouraging confidence within each person and respecting that idea of vulnerability. That mistakes are methods of achieving that overall end goal. Respectfully challenging one another, so a growth mindset attitude that we're all here to learn and to learn from one another. And that it's really important to the value that concept of continuous improvement.

Equitable options for continuous learning. That comes back to adult learning principles, really understanding that there's no one set methodology for every person, that we're all going to learn in really different ways and we want to value that. And really encourage the self-awareness of individuals to understand the methods of learning that are really going to suit them.

I'm just having a quick look at our discussion forum and to see if we can add anything to the ideas here. So I can see someone's mentioned personal development plans, which support empowerment opportunities. And that's actually a question. So we might stop and answer that before we move on to the next bit. What do you think of personal development plans, Kylie?

Kylie Pearce

Well I think they need to be a two way street. It definitely needs to be not just your place of employment. It needs to be created between, like a collaboration, between the two - yourself and how you fit in and where you see yourself in creating these plans. So, as I said, it's a two way street, you need to be supported to develop these on your own. Like. A sense of empowerment with opportunities, with ideas, with interests that you have, with ideas that you have for the service that you work at.

Alicia Marshall

Yeah. I think when I think of personal development plans, ultimately what comes out for me is that idea of taking a strength or an interest, or even an area of improvement that you've identified that you want to work on, and committing it to, in particular, a SMART goal. For those of you who might not have heard of SMART goals before, here we're referring to something that's specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timeframed. And again, this is actually one of our adult learning principles. That we're sitting down and we're specifying how it is that we're going to achieve that goal. Which ultimately increases the level of responsibility and ownership over how you're going to get there, what you've described, it's giving each individual agency over how they're going to do it, too. And it's providing you with an ability to monitor yourself in that continuous improvement process.

Kylie Pearce

And being given the opportunity to be supported to achieve these things.

Alicia Marshall

I love that idea, absolutely. And I think in Erin Eatough's work, and in adult learning principles, we identify that adults actually want to be supported in their learning process. They really value that idea of mentorship. And I know that's something that you guys do at Urban Education as well. So supporting through a professional development plan, not only are you creating a pathway on how the individual is going to get there, but you're also talking about methods of how they're going to receive the support to do that as well, and what resources you might be able to use along the way, which is great.

So one of the other things that I think we've probably spoken about, and we've mentioned, you just mentioned it here too. It kind of sums it up really nicely. That idea of two way learning and two way contribution. When I actually asked Kylie what her definition of an effective leader was, her response to me was that she never wears high heels to work. And that's exactly what she said. And I remember laughing and then asking her to elaborate a little bit. And she was telling me that if she wore high heels to work, she wouldn't be able to effectively go into any of the rooms and to support, not only the children, but also the educators in that space. You wouldn't be able to achieve role modelling through your own engagement in supporting your team. And that you wouldn't be an effective leader because you wouldn't be able to support everybody through moving. Kylie didn't like the idea of moving around in high heels in her space. 

Kylie Pearce

It's a bit of a risk too.

Alicia Marshall

But I'm curious for you to share with everybody here today, as well, in the end, what did you define as an effective leader?

Kylie Pearce

Oh. I've always probably struggled a bit with this because it's , in retrospect, talking about myself and I'm not really confident in coming across in, being out there. But for me personally, being a leader is someone that's present and available each and every day. You're going to acknowledge the individual roles that each of your team members play and the contribution they give to your service. I always am one to acknowledge the role, in my role, sorry, in the success of a team or when mistakes are made. I always critically reflect on that and question, have I given these team members the right tools to be able to succeed? You've got to have self-reflection. You need to be able to guide and support each person's individual journey. Not everybody fits in the same box. So. Yeah, it's providing that safe space. It's being flexible and adaptable, continuously on your feet.

Alicia Marshall

Yeah, absolutely. And I can see that we had a comment there around sometimes we may potentially notice flaws rather than strengths as an automatic tendency. And then how do we give the feedback in a positive way. And you were sort of alluding to a little bit of that, but do you want to elaborate on that point a little more.

Kylie Pearce

In giving positive feedback?

Alicia Marshall

How to give feedback in a really positive way. Yeah.

Kylie Pearce

Well, I think obviously it needs to be direct to the person. It needs to happen, where possible, throughout that process, as soon as possible. Like it's not something that should be, wait until a time when it's readily made available for me, or it suits me. I need to be able to actively engage myself in supporting these people and giving them positive feedback and credentials right then and there, because the growth is going to start from that opportunity, not from waiting until I've provided that feedback. So.

Alicia Marshall

Yeah. The other thing that I think about here is again, acknowledging each individual and their learners self-concept. I think it's really important to actually have those conversations with everybody about how they like to receive feedback. Both positive and constructive. So for instance, I'm actually someone who really does, and I know you're the same, doesn't really enjoy receiving any type of feedback in a group type setting, be it positive or constructive. So understanding that about an individual would ensure that you're providing them with a feedback in a way that's going to be most receptive. Acknowledging that if they don't like to receive it in social settings, you need to be mindful about not doing it in a social setting. But still finding a way to do it in real time. So you might just quickly pull them aside to say I can see how you acknowledged that child's feelings, for instance, in that space. And did you notice when you acknowledged that child's feelings, their behavioural response calmed down and they responded to you and they really then wanted to engage with you and find a pathway forward. That's such a brilliant way of doing it. So really acknowledging in a way in a methodology that's going to be suitable to each individual, I think is probably a way that we can focus on feedback as a whole. Be it both positive and constructive, because both need to be provided.

Kylie Pearce

Yeah. And I think that's why it's important for leaders to get to know the individuals right from the get-go, right from the very beginning. Vest your time in your people. To know them. Because then it's going to be a win-win situation.

Alicia Marshall

Yeah, absolutely. And I think if they, if you're open and transparent and also consistent in your approaches on how you support the team as well, they're going to naturally develop a trust in you in your leadership role as well. They'll understand how you're going to respond to them and that you're also going to respect their ways of engaging as well.

Kylie Pearce

I'm a bit of a stirrer. But I love them all.

Alicia Marshall

That's a conversation for another day, I imagine.

So some of the other things that probably stood out for me and in what we've just been talking about, is, I think for you, when I hear you talk about your role as a leader, and I know it hasn't always been the case for you, but you've really worked hard at being very self-aware. Is that correct? Can I, can I say that about you?

Kylie Pearce

It's taken a long time, it took a lot of critical self-reflection and a lot of practice over the years, but if I didn't do it I wouldn't be where I am today with my team. So yeah. I'm pretty lucky.

Alicia Marshall

You are, but you've also worked really hard to get there and I think that's an accomplishment that you can probably acknowledge too. And for me that comes through in your journey that you've taken to be more self-aware and critically reflective in your own journey and the role that you play as a leader.

Kylie Pearce

Yeah, a hundred percent. 

Alicia Marshall

I think one of the things that really came out for me throughout everything that you spoke about was your true passion and belief in a distributed sense of power and responsibility across the team. And you don't just say that, you genuinely walk the walk in all of the actions that you implement in your team, through both your strategies and your systems. So the way that people engage in regulations and legislations and quality improvement practice and you pedagogy. One of the other things that sort of came out for me was you have redefined that term of accountability.

So, with your commitment to your overall organisational goals and this idea of growth mindset, you truly value the journey that everybody's taking to get there. And you mentioned earlier your belief in succession, and so you truly acknowledge the role that you play in any mistakes that are made as well. So when something has occurred, it's not only a process of valuing that mistake and acknowledging it for the learning journey that it's played, but then also thinking about yourself as your role as a leader and what you may need to further contribute to that person's ability to succeed in the pathway that they're taking. So the support that you're offering to your team. Not only just from yourself, but also through the mentorship initiatives that you've set up amongst your team, where you your team members support one another in that process as well.

The other thing that we sort of briefly spoke about, and I'm wondering if you can elaborate for everybody here today, is that idea of the zone of empowerment.

Kylie Pearce

Well I think obviously, of course, we want to support everyone's sense of empowerment everyday. But we also need to ensure it's important to balance that empowerment, obviously with the regulations and the National Quality Standards. Things like that.

Alicia Marshall

Yeah. And I think this comes back to that idea of communication and clarity and transparency, that if we're open and honest and upfront about that from the beginning, and we're supporting people's achievement towards their goals, but giving them the tools and the understandings of the National Quality Standards and the regulations and the legislations, it comes down to you not saying, well, you can't do that because it doesn't meet. It's actually about you encouraging them to understand where they might not be able to do something because they have an awareness of the regulations and the legislations themselves.

Kylie Pearce

Giving them the tools to succeed. 

Alicia Marshall

Yeah, absolutely. I love that.

Alright. So we're going to talk a little bit about the role of empowerment as a protective factor for mental health. And I can see we're right back on time. So we're doing really well there. 

So a lot of the research has showed us that an empowered team does actually benefit the overall organisation. It's linked to things such as job satisfaction, increased performance and productivity, greater accountability, efficient problem resolution, that's probably one of the things we haven't clearly articulated just yet. When people have an agency over their decision-making process and they're built-in with the confidence to make those decisions, they're less likely to come to leadership or escalate something to the leadership team. They probably have more of a level of confidence in their ability to have a go at making that decision. So better efficiency and problem resolution.

Research also shows us that it builds a trust-based culture. And that, of course it reduces the impact of burnout and stress. And when we talk about a protective factor, what we're talking about here is something, an element, for an individual that protects them against the possibilities of developing mental health concerns or illnesses, something that protects their mental health and wellbeing overall.

So for an individual, when we're talking about an empowered organisational culture, we can think about things such as increased sense of value and purpose. The research also shows us that it builds an individual's identity and self perception, their self actualisation, so the achieving of goals due to that greater level of confidence. It builds self-efficacy, so our belief in our ability to achieve something in particular. For instance like today, I know that Kylie didn't necessarily have a lot of self-efficacy in her ability to come and chat to everybody here. But I think through the process of collaborating with, and hopefully by the end of today, she's developed a greater sense of self-efficacy in her ability to share about an empowered work culture. 

Kylie Pearce

I'll be a pro.

Alicia Marshall

Self motivation is something else that we see for individuals in an empowered organisational culture. Self-discipline is another thing that comes out. Agency and autonomy, we've used those words a lot today, along with ownership. And then also that idea of resiliency and growth mindset.

And Be You actually has an implementation story titled Seven ways to build professional resilience. So if you keen to go and learn a little bit more about that, you should be able to find the link in the discussion forum shortly.

Okay. Now, Kylie, in our conversations preparing for today, you actually mentioned a point that I hadn't considered myself either. You spoke about the importance of an empowered organisational culture for the sector, for the early childhood sector. Can you tell us a little bit more about this?

Kylie Pearce

Well, I think now, in the current climate, it's more important than ever to have empowered educators and professionals coming through early education and care. We need empowered team leads- empowered teams lead to educators staying in the profession. 

I've worked with quite a few of my teammates for a number of years. And we love coming to work each and every day and we love being there with each other. They've become an extension of my family, really. We support each other, when we go off on tangents in our passion, and about learning opportunities. And we get really excited, like it's Christmas. So. We, as a whole though, for the Urban team, we, more than ever, we want to advocate for our early childhood as a profession and support anyone and everyone out there any way we can.

Alicia Marshall

I really love that. And that that term advocacy really stands out for me. That when we're supporting those ideas of an empowered culture, ultimately what we're doing is we're advocating for each individual and their ability and capability of being an early learning educator, whatever that means for them. That's such an important point.

I don't know about any of you, but I know that I could probably keep talking about this concept for a very, very long time, but we are reaching the end of today's session. And in the purposes of wrapping up, it's really important for us to consider next steps. So we're going to initiate our next poll and I'm really keen to hear from all of you joining us today. What are your next steps towards considering empowerment for your particular learning community?

Now you're more than welcome to select multiple options here if you like. And of course, if there's nothing that floats your boat in those options, please tell us in the discussion forum any of your ideas about where to next for you. But Kylie, I'm keen to hear what's your biggest takeaway from our conversation today?

Kylie Pearce

Well, hopefully that leaders are able to step up and work with their teams to advocate, and advocate and advocate for early childhood as a profession, as a career, as an individual and yeah, that they can support each other and get into that growth mindset and empower each other to make a better learning opportunity for our little mini humans. 

Alicia Marshall

Yeah. I think for me, and I know I've said this to you multiple times in our conversations already, but the terminology that you used around respectfully challenging one another. For me that epitomised the concept of an empowered culture. Like you, I've come from workplaces that didn't necessarily have that before. And I absolutely feel that now in my Be You team. And so as soon as you said that term, I went, yes. That's exactly what it speaks to for me.

Alright, let's hear what all of you have to say out there. So we've got 44% are going to reflect upon their role as a leader and how they might be able to incorporate empowerment a little bit better. There's a few people who are going to go back to their service philosophy and other policy documents to see how they can consider empowerment in those spaces. And then a few of you, 19%, who are going to learn about adult learning principles. That's fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing everybody.

Alright. So my next call to action, I think the biggest thing that I'm going to encourage all of you to do out there today is actually take these ideas of what next and turn them into achievable, SMART goals and action plans. Share with us as a Be You team. So speak to your Be You Consultant, who is a valuable resource for anyone who comes from a registered learning community. Ask for their support in developing your next steps into a Be You Action Plan. For anyone who might not be coming from a registered learning community, consider registering. You can do so on our website. And for anyone else who may be in a different space, you can access any of our Be You online implementation Sessions and Events. And speak to a Be You Consultant to gain further support about how you might be able to take your ideas and develop them into an Action Plan.

But we really recommend that you keep in touch, use the Be You social media beyouvirtual hashtag. And let us know about what your action steps are and how you've gone about implementing those. What's been a success. What you may need to do have changed. We really value hearing that.

We've spoken about it a little bit already today, but generating a mentally healthy community is absolutely a shared responsibility and a collaborative approach is best. So we really encourage you to consider building your Be You Action Team. More people are better than one. And so it's a collaborative approach that works. Please consider that there's more information available on the Be You website.

The other thing that I want to recommend to all of you today is that we're going to host a Be You Conversation session for any of you joining us here today in the concurrent session. So if you keen to come and speak to me and continue these conversations, I'll be online on Monday the 27 June at 10.00 AM. Australian Eastern Standard Time. Please come along and continue the conversation. The link to this particular Be You conversation should hopefully be shared in the discussion forum with you now. I look forward to hopefully seeing you there.

Definitely stay connected. If you haven't registered with Be You yet, please do to gain further access to our resources and tools. And we look forward to hearing more from all of you in the journey that you're taking towards creating an empowered organisation.

Thank you to everybody who's thanking us in the discussion forum. I can see that there's a lot of people feeling a bit inspired about where to next and what they're going to do. Kylie, there's a thank you to you there about being an inspiring leader. And I'm really glad that they did that. I want to say a huge thank you to you from the whole Be You team for participating today, it's been absolutely amazing having this opportunity to have these conversations with you.

Kylie Pearce

No, thank you, Alicia for having me.

Alicia Marshall

I'm glad that Kylie's inspired some of you out there. She's definitely inspired me in these conversations. And good luck to everybody in your ongoing journey towards mental health literacy and wellness. Thanks again.

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