Some might say I am too exacting, too much of a perfectionist. But working with children has and will continue to make me more accepting of the need to 'break eggs' to make an omelet, to tolerate disorder to realize a goal. Even at the formal operations stage, an adult must know that his or her cherished philosophical goals and abstractions are not shared by everyone. It is necessary to motivate others through emotions as well as logic to make employees want to achieve critical objectives and benchmarks.
Learning how to convince other people, to make them share my ideals, has been a great learning experience for me in all of my leadership roles. A CEO, above all, cannot have the egocentric perspective of a child. Although it is expected of a child, a CEO must put aside such 'childish things' as concern for the ego, and instead focus on getting things done. This necessitates a keen understanding of what motivates others. Anyone can know 'what to do,' it is a leader that makes other people 'want to do it' and see it as necessary, and in their best interests to do so. I think that Kemp's team leadership approach will play to my new-found strengths and help me support a philosophy that fosters learning amongst all of those whom I work with.
I approach leadership as a teaching experience: like a teacher learns from a class, I believe that I must learn from every employee, every client. But I also believe I have a responsibility to direct, manage, and set the tone for those individuals who are my responsibility. Flexibility and individualization is always needed when addressing the needs of children and one of the great...
Programs such as Head Start have demonstrated how children who receive preschool-level education can benefit from having reinforcement in the basics for years afterwards. And a multigenerational strategy should be adopted: parental and prenatal health must not be forgotten. Piaget's analysis of parents' critical roles in fostering development through games reminds us of the need to make parents feel included and valuable in fostering critical skills in their children.
One interesting reformulation of Piaget's thesis is that it is not culturally universal to favor abstraction when dealing with problems, and what he defines as the final stage of development, the formal operational stage, is not present in all cultures. Although I am comfortable in dealing with abstractions, I know that ultimately every issue must be brought into concrete terms to be meaningful to both adults and children.
Consensus building, communication skills, experience with budgetary matters, and a strong background in childhood development theory: I bring all of these to the Kemp Center as well as a commitment to building the community at Kemp as well as the community as a whole. Life is a learning experience, a growing experience for adults as well as children. I hope to learn and grow at Kemp as well as help the community Kemp serves do the same.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Yours truly,
