McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY Flora Q. Gomez, M.Ed. | October 2, 2020

“If you want to lead, you must make sure you never leave behind an empty chair. You must constantly develop other leaders to take your place.” – John C. Maxwell


In a February 2020 blog, leadership author John C. Maxwell recalled how his company’s CEO asked his team, “Who will fill your chair if you weren’t here?” He followed up in the blog to remind us: “If you want to lead, you must make sure you never leave behind an empty chair. You must constantly develop other leaders to take your place.”


When I began my career as an early childhood educator at the young age of eighteen, I was selling Mary Kay Cosmetics as a “side hustle” while also attending school full-time. It was in this network marketing company where I learned early on that in order to advance the company, and advance within the company, you must learn to “duplicate yourself.” However, as I entered the early childhood workforce, the importance of developing other leaders was not as heavily promoted. My questions for current early childhood leaders are: why are there so many “vacant chairs” in early childhood leadership leaving us to wonder “where are the leaders?” and Are we fulfilling our responsibility of mentoring and developing new leaders? 


In the past, it seemed reasonable to begin thinking about succession when planning for retirement or pursuing a different role. But what about the unplanned vacancies? We know all too well the struggle of hiring, training, and retaining teachers, and the process has not been proven easier when it comes to our roles in leadership. So, where do we begin to avoid leaving an empty chair?


1. “Inspire others to participate in and expand the vision.”- Margie Carter and Deb Curtis.

In The Visionary Director (2010), Margie Carter and Deb Curtis explain how to go beyond managing a program to actually leading a program. They state, “working with a vision requires developing oneself into a leader who inspires others to participate in and expand the vision (Carter & Curtis, 2010).” Think about what your program would look like when the vision that has been created is actually fulfilled. Chances are, if you can fulfill the vision without passing the torch, you’re aiming too low. Therefore, think about who on your team has the ability or potential to continue to build on the vision when your chair becomes empty– and start seeking and developing them now.


2. Be clear about what it means to be a leader in your role.

At some point or another, we all attempt to write down all of the tasks we do on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis, etc. We think that a detailed description of our day-to-day activities along with step-by-step procedures will be sufficient for those who will pick up where we leave off. While it may help with management, that won’t be enough. Think about the dispositions you bring and how you influence the culture of your program. What makes the team thrive under your leadership, and what are your personal attributes that have hindered your program’s progress? How will you share the vision, responsibilities, and possibilities of the position? Don’t take those intangible attributes for granted. Your successor will not simply inherit them through the gift of your writing. It will come from spending time with them and teaching them while you work.


3. Don’t think you have time, because you don’t!

The question becomes, when is the appropriate time to start planning for succession? In my network marketing career, I was taught “your first day on the job!” Our growing industry is offering us more non-traditional opportunities and career paths, so the days of being “just” a teacher or director in early childhood education are becoming a thing of the past. People are pivoting quicker than ever before– including program leaders.


You should always be scouting for talent to develop within your staff or mentoring someone who is interested in a similar career path. As a leader, you invest a great deal of time and energy getting your team to buy into the vision, why not groom the people you work with to continue it when you enter the next phase of your career? I always love the analogy of “who will do your work if you won the lottery and decided to not come back tomorrow?” If you don’t have at least two to three names that come to mind, that means that you may be overlooking untapped potential on your team, and you’re likely going to leave an empty chair, one way or another. Remember, “a leader’s job is not just to get the best out of their people- a leader’s job is to make more leaders (Simon Sinek).”


Flora Q. Gomez, M.Ed. is currently a Quality Assessment Coordinator at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership in the City of Chicago. She is an experienced preschool teacher and trainer, coach, and consultant for early childhood educators.

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Scaffolded Beginnings: Navigating Orientation with Intentional Design: Part 2: Making It Stick

By Leslie Layman • November 12, 2025
BY LESLIE LAYMAN Introduction: Building on Intentional Design In part one of this “Scaffolded Beginnings” series , Emilie Austin, McCormick Institute for Early Childhood’s Manager of Learning Design Experience, spoke to the importance of intentional design and scaffolding to support new employees in deepening their learning during orientation. This second part of the series covers the importance of operational leadership in helping that learning to “stick” so that employees can successfully apply skills learned in orientation to their new roles. Many organizations structure orientation as a “big day” of meeting people, reviewing handbooks and procedures, and maybe sharing coffee and sweets. On that day, new employees are taking on a new role, expectations, and culture while trying to understand and memorize functional processes and procedures. Going beyond the big day by applying intentional environmental design and contextual, participatory learning theory in your day-to-day helps your employees own and grow into their place in your organization’s culture. Applying a Reggio-Inspired Approach to Onboarding Intentional leaders are responsible for both the administrative leadership of the workplace environment and the strategic leadership and guidance of the organization. Both areas are involved in scaffolding new employees from understanding what they have learned during orientation to applying that information in their new role throughout and beyond the onboarding and training process (Talan, Masterson, & Bella). Loris Malaguzzi’s Reggio approach to early childhood education is a useful framework for thinking of and planning for new employees as learners and participants in the environment, as well as educators and carers of children and families. “To make a lovable school, industrious, inventive, liveable, documentable and communicable, a place of research, learning, re-cognition and reflection, where children, teachers and families feel well - is our point of arrival.” -Loris Malaguzzi (Sourced from: Institutionzione del Comune di Reggio Emilia ) Each of the Reggio Values can be used to create a shared learning space where educators and children can thrive. A few examples include: Children are active protagonists in their growing processes And so are adult learners! Find ways to make new employees the “lead” in the story of their onboarding. New employees can participate in individualized goal setting to help them feel in control of their professional development. Progettazione/Designing People of all ages learn by doing. Support new employees to participate in designing training and learning experiences rather than providing only pre-planned or scripted training. The Hundred Languages People bring all of themselves, their experiences, and their ways of being to learning and work environments, and they gain new knowledge through active co-construction. Integrating learning experiences into the work environment can help training become more memorable and easier to apply. One example is implementing training on technology or documentation tools as they are being used in context. Participation New employees need opportunities to participate in the environment as they are learning and to experience the emotions and culture of the role. Observation time is important, and being an active team member early on is also important. Organization and the Environment Intentional planning of the way in which employees will interact with the space makes learning more fluid. Some ideas include: making sure that the resources needed for tasks are in functional locations, having deadlines for documentation or responding to family communications built into the daily schedule, and modeling intentional care for children by demonstrating deliberate care for the space. Thoughtfully organize adult materials and create a welcoming, inviting environment for adults and children. Leadership Insight: Apply what you know about Learning and environments The same principles of guiding the learning and independence of children in the educational environment can be applied when helping new staff to move beyond understanding their role to actively embodying their role on your early care and education team. This process can be applied using the early education and care philosophies that are most important to you and relevant to your leadership context. Reflecting on the philosophical and curricular choices you have made for your program and why you chose them can help you think about how you may want to apply those approaches for adult learning. This strategy works because it is integrated and intentional, and it builds skills by modeling skills in the “real world” context to make them stick. Resources for Further Exploration Scuole E Nindi D’Infanzia, Institutionzione del Comune di Reggio Emilia. (N.D). Reggio Emelia Approach. Reggiochildren.it, https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/ Beirmeier, M. (2015). Inspired by Reggio Emilia: Emergent Curriculum in Relationship-Driven Learning Environments. Young Children, 70(5), https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2015/emergent-curriculum Schlieber, M. & McLean, C. (2020). Educator Work Environments Are Children’s Learning Environments: How and Why They Should Be Improved. Sequel, January 21, 2020. https://cscce.berkeley.edu/blog/educator-work-environments-are-childrens-learning-environments-how-and-why-they-should-be-improved/ Citations Scuole E Nindi D’Infanzia, Institutionzione del Comune di Reggio Emilia. (N.D). Values. Reggiochildren.it, https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/ Talan, T., Masterson, M., & Bella, J. (2023, April 4). Whole leadership: A framework for early childhood programs – 2023. Whole Leadership: A Framework for Early Childhood Programs – 2023 | McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.
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