Welcome 😊🖍️

Over the past two weeks, we've explored how leaders navigate parent preferences that conflict with child development and why difficult conversations are essential to accountability. Here is part one and two in this series. This week, we're turning our attention inward; to one of the most common challenges leaders face within their own teams.

If you've ever heard a teacher say, "I've always done it this way," you're not alone.

Whether it's resisting a new curriculum, refusing to try a different classroom management strategy, or pushing back on developmentally appropriate practices, resistance to change can leave leaders feeling frustrated and stuck.

The truth is that leadership isn't about forcing change. It's about helping people become willing to consider it.

Resistance Is Usually About Fear, Not Defiance

When leaders hear resistance, it's easy to assume staff are being difficult. In reality, resistance often stems from fear.

Teachers may worry that:

The more we understand the source of the resistance, the better equipped we are to address it.

Instead of asking, "Why won't they do this?" ask: "What might they be worried about?"

That shift in perspective can completely change the conversation.

✍🏽Leadership Takeaway: Before addressing resistance, identify the underlying fear.

Experience Is Valuable, But It Isn't a Substitute for Growth

One of the most common responses leaders hear is: "I've been doing this for twenty years."

Experience absolutely matters. Veteran teachers bring wisdom, dedication, and valuable classroom knowledge. However, years of experience do not automatically equal best practice.

Child development research continues to evolve. What we know about behavior guidance, social-emotional learning, brain development, and teaching strategies today is different from what we knew ten or twenty years ago.

The question should never be: "Have I always done it this way?"
The question should be: "Is this still what's best for children?"

✍🏽Leadership Takeaway: Respect experience while still expecting continuous professional growth. Check out this coaching tool!

Coaching Opens Doors That Correcting Often Closes

When staff resist change, leaders often respond with more information.

We explain, justify, and persuade.

Yet resistance often remains. Why? Because people are more likely to change when they feel heard than when they feel corrected.

Try replacing statements with questions:

These questions create partnership rather than opposition.

✍🏽Leadership Takeaway: Lead with curiosity before moving to correction.

The Culture You Create Determines the Change You Can Achieve

If every new initiative is met with resistance, it may be worth examining the culture rather than the individual.

In strong programs:

Most importantly, leaders model the behaviors they want to see. If we ask staff to embrace change while we remain fixed in our own thinking, our message loses credibility.

Growth-minded leaders build growth-minded teams.

✍🏽Leadership Takeaway: The best way to create openness to change is to model it yourself.

Effective leaders are not the ones who have all the answers. They are the ones who create environments where learning never stops. Every time you help a teacher reflect on a practice, consider a new perspective, or connect their work to child development, you are doing more than managing a team; you are shaping a culture of growth.

The goal is not to change people. The goal is to inspire them to become the best version of themselves for the children they serve. And when leaders commit to that work, something powerful happens: classrooms improve, teachers grow, and children thrive. That is the lasting impact of courageous leadership.

Till Next Time,

Jen Sprafka📋

P.S. This week, replace correction with curiosity. Pick one staff member who is resistant to change and ask, "What's making this difficult?" Then reply and tell me what you learned.

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