Meaningful Kitas:
Symposium by Rainbowtrekkers on meaningful and agile work in daycare centers
Agile leadership is being discussed in many business enterprises for years. Employees at all hierarchical levels are fed up with professional growth for its own sake. More and more people are looking for a meaningful job. Even in the field of kindergardens, the time is ripe to critically reflect on how we, as leaders and managers, develop our organisations: How do we succeed in creating workplaces where our employees can act as humans and pursue an activity in which they can develop all their strengths and abilities?
These questions were the starting point of the 1st Cologne Congress for agile and meaningful work in day-care centers, which the rainbowtrekkers organized at the beginning of the year in our kindergarten in Widdersdorf. The conference was also a networking event, in which more than 20 owners, directors, managers and representatives of associations of day-care centers of different institutions in Cologne and nationwide participated.
Bernd Schulte & Daniela Nowak, two development supporters from the SINNWERKER consulting network pointed out the central location where changes can be initiated and thus a new culture of work created: How are decisions made? How do we manage to communicate at eye level? Do we maintain transparency of all operational facts? Can we develop trust and disclose shortcomings? Can we find a way to become more fearless and to contribute with our full potential and thus be attractive for skilled workers?
The fact that agile working is also possible in the social sector was demonstrated using the example of the success story of the Dutch nursing service BUURTZORG.
The lively and controversial discussion revolved around the feasibility of implementing these ideas in day-care centres.
At the informal concluding buffet, some participants showed interest in actively bringing the discussion to their organisation. “That was one of our goals” – organiser Joel Mertens from the rainbowtrekkers and the speakers agreed.