Early Education Leadership

I'm excited to be joining the Hunter Regional ECA Conversations Evening this month to share a topic that sits at the heart of leadership.

That Question Again? I Don't Know (and Other Powerful Things Leaders Can Say)

As leaders, we often feel pressure to have the answers. Yet some of the most powerful leadership moments come from curiosity, openness, and a willingness to explore together.

In this one-hour keynote, we'll look at how the conversations we have shape trust, relationships, culture, and ultimately the experience of the people we lead. Drawing on the neuroscience of communication and my work with early childhood leaders across Australia, I'll share practical insights that can help us navigate conversations with greater confidence, connection, and authenticity.

If you've ever found yourself carrying the weight of leadership, managing competing expectations, or wondering how to have conversations that create stronger teams, this session is for you.

📅 Thursday 18 June 2026
⏰ 5:30pm arrival for a 6:00pm–7:00pm session
📍 TAFE Glendale Campus, N Block

Thank you to the Hunter Regional Committee of Early Childhood Australia for the invitation. I'm looking forward to connecting with leaders, educators, and professionals from across the region.

I look forward to seeing some familiar faces!

There is something deeply affirming about seeing science begin to explore what many people, cultures, and relational practices have understood for generations, that the heart is more than simply a physical pump.

This article from the HeartMath Institute explores emerging research around the heart–brain connection and the ways our emotional states influence clarity, connection, decision-making, and wellbeing.

It invites an important reflection for leaders, educators, and anyone working in deeply relational spaces: what if the quality of our internal state shapes far more than we realise?

While some areas of HeartMath’s work continue to generate debate within scientific communities, the broader exploration of heart–brain communication, emotional regulation, and coherence offers valuable insight into human connection and leadership practice.

The Heart Was Talking All Along – Science Finally Listened | HeartMath Institute For most of modern history, scientists treated the heart as just a pump. Smart, sure. Essential, absolutely. But a source of intelligence? Of emotion? Of learning? That idea was dismissed — sometimes openly ridiculed — for decades.

Think about the last time you walked into work already running on empty.

A difficult conversation the day before. A poor night's sleep. An important email sitting in your inbox that you hadn't answered yet.

By the time you arrived, you are already feeling stretched and the day hadn't even started.

If that lands, this free masterclass is for you.

📍 Taking Back the Room: Leading From a Regulated State
🗓 Thursday 21 May 2026
⏰ 10:00 – 11:00 AM AEST
💻 Online

In one hour, I'll walk you through:

• What's actually happening in your brain and body when stress pushes you out of your window of tolerance
• Why your reactions under pressure are biology, not character flaws
• A practical five-step model you can start using the same day to pause, reorient, and respond with intention

This session is for educational leaders, room leaders, directors, and centre managers who are tired of reacting rather than responding and who are ready to build a steadier, more regulated presence in their service.

It's free. It's live. And it's interactive, so bring your questions.

Register here 👇

https://www.earlyeducationleadership.com/event-details/taking-back-the-room-leading-from-a-regulated-state

Taking Back the Room: Leading from a Regulated State | Early Education When you are dysregulated, everyone in the room feels it. This free masterclass explores the neuroscience of self-regulation and gives you practical tools to recognise your stress response early and lead from a calmer, more connected place.

✨ You’re invited to join us inside The Connections Forum ✨

A space created for past and present leaders from our Early Education Leadership community to reconnect, reflect, share ideas, and continue growing together.

In a sector where the pace can feel relentless and the pressure is real, spaces like this matter.

Leadership becomes stronger when we stay connected to people who understand the work, the responsibility, and the heart behind what we do.

Our first live session is happening on Monday 18th May and I would love you to be part of it.

If you’ve been thinking about joining, this is your reminder to register now so you don’t miss the opening conversation and the opportunity to reconnect with this incredible community.

💛 Reflect. Connect. Grow. Together.

Register here: www.earlyeducationleadership.com/the-connections-forum

Big Announcement - Don't Miss Out!

The Connections Forum is officially here and it was made with you in mind.

If you've done the Online Conscious Leadership programs with me, you already know the power of this work.

The Connections Forum is your way to stay connected to it, one hour a month, online, where we slow down, think together, and keep growing as leaders in early childhood.

Eight sessions through 2026, starting Monday 18 May.

No extra work, no pressure, just a dedicated space to bring what you're wrestling with in your service and work through it together with leaders who genuinely get it.

Revisiting all those favourite tools and frameworks you have learnt.This is where we get to look at how you are applying them or helping you to review their application in alignment with your current challenges.

I would love to see you there. 💛👉

https://www.earlyeducationleadership.com/the-connections-forum

Sessions run monthly from 18 May to 7 December 2026

🕑 2:00–3:00pm AEST | Online via Zoom 💻

There's something that happens when you're finally in a room with people who just get it.

Jane, an Educational Leader from Cohort 26, described it as feeling like an alliance, professionals united by the same purpose, working toward the same goal.

That sense of "I've found my people" doesn't happen by accident. It's what we design for.

The Dandelion Program brings early childhood leaders together: room leaders, educational leaders, team leaders, who are ready to grow their communication skills, deepen their leadership presence, and stop figuring it all out alone.

As you know leadership in early childhood can feel incredibly isolating. You're often the only person in your service doing what you do. And yet the conversations you're navigating every day with educators, with families, with directors they shape everything.

You deserve a space to learn those skills alongside people who understand exactly what you're carrying.

✨ Cohort 26 opens July 2026.

If you've been watching from the sidelines wondering "is this for me?", Jane's words might just answer that question.

To find out more follow the link here or email me at [email protected]

https://www.earlyeducationleadership.com/the-dandelion-project

Considering nearly 90% of your role as an early childhood leader requires communication, how much training have you and your leaders actually had?

That question sat at the heart of our free webinar this morning, where leaders joined us from across Australia and even two from Houston, Texas, all showing up because they care deeply about their teams, the children in their services, and their own growth as leaders.

The topic? Mastering Difficult Conversations.

And before we even got into the content, I asked them a simple question:

When thinking about how you approach difficult conversations, do any of these sound familiar?

😴 "I'll lose sleep over it… but I'll still put it off."
⏰ "I need to prepare more. Maybe next week."
🚀 "I'll just jump in and say what I think — get it over with."
🌀 "Let me talk about something else first and ease my way in."

Every single particpant could relate in some way.

I talked about:

✅ Avoidance is not a leadership failure. It's a neurological response.
✅ Your body knows the difference between a trust conversation and a threat conversation and so does theirs.
✅ Self-regulation isn't a soft skill. It's your greatest leadership superpower.
✅ How you show up BEFORE the conversation changes everything that happens inside it.
✅ Difficult conversations, done well, are your greatest opportunity for connection and growth and practice improvements.

As one participant said at the end: "I love the idea of setting the context for an empathic exchange, slowing down and stating your intention." That's Conversational Intelligence in action.

And it changes everything.

If you missed the webinar and would love a copy of the recording or if you want to explore what it looks like to really build these skills over time drop me a DM or email me at [email protected] - I would love to hear from you.

If you are off the floor this morning and want to refresh your learning, come and join me at my free masterclass: Managing Difficult Conversations at 10:00am - It would be lovely to see you there 🌈

Managing Difficult Conversations: April 26 | Early Education Difficult conversations are part of leadership. This free masterclass explores why they feel so hard — and gives you a practical, neuroscience-informed process for approaching them with more confidence and less dread.

Today we closed the final session of the Dandelion Program for our 2025/26 pilot cohort.

Ten months. Fifteen early childhood leaders from across NSW and QLD. And some of the most profound professional transformation I've witnessed in 25 years in this sector.

These leaders came in carrying something I see everywhere in early childhood, the weight of doing deeply complex, relational work almost entirely alone.

They'd stepped up when asked. They cared deeply. But they had no roadmap, no peer community, and no structured space to grow.

Here's what they said when they arrived:

💬 "Uncertain."
💬 "Isolated."
💬 "Hesitant because of lingering self-doubt."
💬 "Interested — but alone."

And here's who they said they were taking forward:

✨ "Someone who listens to connect and holds space for growth."

✨ "Grounded, connected and truly present with all stakeholders."

✨ "Thoughtful and intentional, meeting every interaction with curiosity and eagerness to grow."

In their own words after completing the program they shared:

"Leadership isn't about perfection, it's about reflection." Jane

"I cannot express in words how much this has changed everything for me." Gina

"It's empowering to know that those tools are in us all along. This program helped us draw them out." Leanne

This is what happens when we stop treating leadership development as a one-day training event and start treating it as something leaders actually deserve, sustained, relational, deeply human support over time.

This cohort has been one of the most inspiring groups of early childhood leaders we have had the privilege of walking alongside.

The real story is just beginning and we cannot wait to witness how this work moves through their services, their teams, and the children and families at the centre of it all.

If you know an early childhood leader who is doing this work alone share this with them.

The next cohort opens July 2026.

🔗 earlyeducationleadership.com.au

FREE WEBINAR:

If you haven't registered for my up and coming Free Webinar: Managing Difficult Conversations, it's not too late. Follow the link below and I look forward to seeing you there....

https://www.earlyeducationleadership.com/event-details/managing-difficult-conversations-april-26