Personal Vision Statement To be an optimistic person of integrity, with a servants heart and with the wisdom to balance work/family

and my faith.

My personal vision statement as a leader in early childhood care and education encompasses my passion for my career in childcare administration, my personal life and my religious beliefs. I believe that my personal vision statement will guide me to a place in my life where my work , family and religious life will find balance and I will feel complete. This assignment has come at a time in my life when I had begun to lose sight of my vision. My hopes and dreams were diminished when my husband passed away on November 19, 2011. I am thankful that I had to sit down and evaluate a new vision to give me renewed hopes and dreams. Optimism is a key attribute in being a good leader and to keeping joy in your life. Optimistic leaders have the endurance to keep pursuing their goals and leading their employees toward a common vision even during rough times. Optimistic leaders also are better motivators and share their enthusiasm with their employees. Being optimistic in your personal life keeps you focused on the positive things in your life. I have always tried to be optimistic both at work and home but during these months after my husbands death it has been harder to keep looking forward and to be optimistic about the future. My goal is to pray from my devotional bible every morning, drawing strength from Gods word, to keep me focused on the joy and beauty I still have in my life. Every night I will meditate on my day and list at least 5 positive things that happened in my professional and personal life that day. Being a person of integrity is important to me. For me to begin a journey toward an undivided life i I want to be brave enough to always say what I mean and mean what I say. It is not always easy to say to your colleagues or family exactly what is in your heart for fear what you value may cause controversy. I want to be the same person in my role as mother, friend, child care owner etc..., to do this I need to analyze my values and principles and live by them. I want to follow my spiritual beliefs by living a moral and honest life. Being a person of integrity will help me do this. I want to maintain a servants heart. My religious beliefs are grounded in the belief that we are here on earth to serve the Lord and one way we do this is by serving in the community. I am blessed to be in a field where I can serve the community by providing quality childcare. Our center does community outreach projects each month and each year we help out struggling families by forgiving past balances. I try to serve each family to the best of my ability. I also try to serve my staff by helping them when they need me to. We utilize the TEACH scholarship program to help the employees achieve their education goals. I am a strong believer in serving the people I lead. In my personal life, my vision is to become an active member and leader of Elmbrook Church and to encourage my daughters to do the same.

I want to find the wisdom to balance my work/family and religious life. This is the part of my vision that I will need to work on the most. I would like to find a mentor in our field that has found this balance and who would be willing to share with me how this is done. I have begun to realize that my vision for the center, to reach high quality standards is not a goal it is a never ending process. I had always thought that when I reached my goal I would spend more time with my family, friends and church. I know now that I need to find a balance while fostering the process of high quality care. I would also like to be a more active member of NAEYC, WECA and WCCAA. I want to be able to help advocate for more positive changes in our industry. My personal vision statement as a leader in early childhood care and education will help me through multiple stages in my life. I will learn to balance my career, personal life and faith walk now and put a plan in place for the future. In the future, I see my own children graduating from college, leaving their classroom positions and taking on more responsibilities in administration. I would like to, in 10 years, be a consultant for the Center and open a training/consulting firm. It is my goal to use my experience, educational background and vision to help other child care providers. This job would allow me more flexibility to enjoy my family, hobbies and my religious life while still being able to help promote high quality industry standards.

Parker J. Palmer, (2004), A Hidden Wholeness, John Wiley & Sons Inc.