The Adult Who Isn't Fully Prepared

Tips for Filling the Gap & Supporting Adults to Create Long-Term Success

There is such a refreshing feeling that comes from expanding your school community by inviting a new colleague to join. There are always great ideas and plans to set new endeavors into motion, help children succeed, step closer to meeting the mission, and ultimately build the brand. However, sometimes people join, and we fail to set them up for success because we either haven't noticed that they do not yet have all the skills necessary to find success in all the areas needed, or we are not doing our part as an institution to ready them. To set the stage for a strong introduction of a new colleague and continued success for existing faculty and staff, I recommend we take the time to fill the gap. This gap may have come from a lack of training or experience. However, no matter how much experience and training they have, they have not yet had the benefit of knowing the expectations and supports available at your organization or institution, so we must share those things.

Tip #1 - Onboard like your school's existence depends on it.

Because it does. What your new colleague knows and doesn't know will tell the story of your organization and how capable it is by way of their actions. Your school as a brand can grow or be tanked, and the only difference between those two scenarios is how much you are setting people up to tell the story of the organization you wish to be. Luckily, There is an onboarding doc available through my site that can serve as a helpful tool to ensure they know everything they need.

Tip #2 - Make sure that new people have the skills you need or show them the skills you need.

Imagine you are sitting in a meeting with a relatively new guide to your school and the parent of a child who has had some challenges with behavior recently. As you begin the meeting, the guide announces to the parent that they believe the child suffers from ADHD and that they would be better off medicated. Sure, it may strain the relationship between the guide and the parent. However, the parent may also unenroll their child. The parent may tell others that their child was unfairly labeled. Your reputation can be challenged, all because the guide wasn't aware they should not diagnose children. ( I have seen this happen.) So, rather than hope and expect when you don't know what people know, you have to be sure to train new people in the skills they need to succeed. One of the ways Montessori Makers has responded to this need is by creating a seminar that addresses many of the skills that lie in the gap between "trained" and "trained and highly experienced." You can view a snapshot of that seminar here.

Be on the lookout for our live virtual seminar on Preparing the Adult for Schools coming soon!

Tip #3 - Lead beside your people rather than in front of them

The best leaders can set a path from the view at 30,000 feet and fly the plane, as well as be willing to support the ground crew. The work of serving children in a Montessori environment is big work. It can be an all-hands-on-deck situation at any moment. It is also work where there are many intricate moving parts. Lead beside them by learning of their challenges, testing solutions together, and gathering valuable feedback to clarify your 30,000-foot view.

Tip #4 - Leaders approach challenges with help, not solutions

When people have challenges, they don't always ask for help. Having trouble can be embarrassing and confusing, becoming a hit to one's self-confidence. For these reasons, we must always be empathetic and offer to help. Offering solutions takes control from people, which they often do not want. Offering help creates a space where people feel they are seen as capable and responsible. The most important thing we can do when we encounter people having challenges is to be empathetic to their needs and offer to work through it by their side. We use the Montessori philosophy to guide us. Leaders are to their faculty and staff as faculty and staff are to the children.

Tip #5 - To honor the child is to honor their caretakers

When I was first trained many years ago, I heard the following statement from my trainer: "You should offer each child the same respect as someone you admire." This is important. We want to always see children in the best light, with good intentions, and we want to ease their challenges and support their growth toward their fullest potential. Well, so is the case for adults responsible for their care and education. We can not expect the adults closest to children to offer their best to children if they, too, are not given that same amount of honor and grace. Let's honor our faculty and staff, set the stage for them to honor each other by creating a strong, interwoven community and do well together to do well by children.

The preparation of the adult brings us to the work. We fill the gap to ensure success.

Just as children, all humans want to do well and be successful. And, the more people know, the more success they have. We can help with this. We have what you need to: Onboard Staff, Create a year-long plan for Level Meetings & Learn the necessary skills to Fill the Gap and be successful at school.

And as always, if you need anything, please reach out for a free consultation or via email at info@montessorimakers.org.