S2E7 - Adam Christie: Leading Through Vision, Values & Vulnerability
What long-held structures or habits in your service might now be limiting your growth—and how can you begin reimagining them through the lens of your values and vision?
How might you intentionally cultivate moments of joy and vulnerability in your team to build a culture where slow, thoughtful leadership is not only accepted but celebrated?
📘 Episode Summary
In this rich and heartfelt conversation, host Dr Amie Fabry speaks with Adam Christie, early childhood educator, leader, consultant, and co-author of Redefining Planning and Assessment. Together, they explore the layered journey of leadership in early childhood education, emphasising the intertwining of personal and professional identities.
Adam reflects on the pivotal role of values-led leadership, the importance of pedagogical companionship, and how educators can create brave, vulnerable spaces that lead to deeper professional reflection. He encourages leaders to “play the long game”—to slow down, listen to context, and co-construct meaningful change with children, families, and colleagues.
The conversation touches on the need for clear visions, systemic advocacy, and rethinking outdated structures that may no longer serve. Adam also offers insight into finding hope and joy in everyday moments with children, framing this as a powerful form of advocacy and professional sustenance in challenging times.
About Adam Christie
Adam is a passionate early childhood teacher with a degree in Early Childhood Education and Arts from Flinders University, South Australia. He holds a Diploma in strategic leadership and is currently studying a master’s in educational leadership at the University of South Australia. Adam has 17 years experience in early childhood education and care working across non-government and government services as an educator, teacher and leader. He has extensive experience as a systems leader in Government organisations, coordinating networked approaches to leading learning. Adam is now an early childhood consultant working alongside leaders and teams with a focus on leadership, pedagogy and practice. Areas of research interest include early childhood ethics, systems leadership, pedagogical documentation and practitioner inquiry.
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Stay Connected with Dr Amie Fabry:
Subscribe to Leading the Early Years for the Future for more insightful conversations!
🎧 Tune in now and discover how to lead with purpose, creativity, and collaboration!
Hire this host via hello@thelearningfuture.com
[Transcript]
Amie Fabry (00:00)
Hello friends and welcome back to Leading the Early Years for the Future. I am your host, Amy Fabry, and today I am absolutely delighted to be speaking with Adam Christie, who is a passionate early childhood teacher, leader and consultant and the co-author of a brand new book called Redefining Planning and Assessment, Seeing Children Through Pedagogical Documentation. And I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
Adam, thank you so much for the incredible work you do in the sector and thank you for joining me today.
Adam (00:30)
You're so welcome. That's a lovely introduction. And I think it's a really gifted work that I have the privilege and opportunity to do. And of course, I'm an avid listener of the podcast, so it's delightful to be on and an admirer of your work. So thank you for having me.
Amie Fabry (00:45)
it is absolutely my pleasure. I have been looking forward to connecting with you and hearing about your work for some time. So, you know, this is a real gift for me. The first question I always ask my guests though, which I'm sure you're familiar with if you've been listening is, do you have a hidden talent or just something that really lights you up and brings you joy? Perhaps in your professional work, but it might sit outside of your professional work.
Adam (01:08)
course. You know, I was actually listening to the podcast just yesterday and one of the colleagues that you interviewed was talking about this entanglement between professional life and personal life. And I think that's kind of me, right? I think our professional and our personal lives have this ability to intertwine and support one another. And I think when maybe we're privileged with the opportunity for that to happen in our lives, it's a real gift.
Amie Fabry (01:19)
Hmm
Adam (01:34)
because it means we can kind of practice the ethic of our work in our personal lives and our work lives. for me, kind of separating the two, I always find really tricky. And I think I'm becoming more comfortable with finding the harmony that sits between the two of them rather than trying to pull them apart. But I think, I don't know if it's a hidden talent, but...
possibly don't talk about booking a holiday or a trip around me. You you will find that you have an itinerary in your inbox within a few hours that's overwhelmingly detailed with some costings. And while I'll have no idea how you or I are going to pay for it, we will be progressing through the motions relatively quickly. I think travel for me is travel and organizing travel are possibly my hidden talent.
Amie Fabry (02:00)
You
Adam (02:20)
And I think that's connected to this sense of curiosity and wonderment about what sits beyond my place and space.
Amie Fabry (02:28)
That is so beautiful. And that is definitely a talent. Like that is a gift because not all of us have the ability to be that organized and that quickly or efficiently. So I think you would actually be the ideal travel companion because I love to get excited about things, but then the details not so much. So that sounds amazing.
Adam (02:47)
Yeah, I think, you know, at times my wife might say, could you slow down? That's a lot of hotels you're spamming me with, but we do have a lot of fun.
Amie Fabry (02:55)
Sounds brilliant. And I also really resonate with this idea that, you know, we are human beings, right? So I think when we find a place for us to really step into our values and what we believe for our work, but it's connected to who we are as individuals, I do think there is that beautiful crossover between, you know, you as a human and a person and the professional side.
And that's definitely a space that I'm exploring too. And I think about my work is also a gift to be able to, and a privilege to be able to do what I do. So yeah, I really appreciate your thoughts around how you were just Adam, guess, being Adam in all facets of life and being your authentic self. So that's really beautiful. So Adam, tell us about the work you do day to day in the sector.
Adam (03:47)
Yeah, so I think my work is diverse, it's multifaceted and it's certainly shaped I think by my early experiences as an educator and so if I think about some of those really early experiences of being a teacher, being an educator, the context which I had the absolute privilege to work in.
there was always a leader who was like a champion, a coach, a mentor, someone that stepped in and out at just the right times and you know there's a whole list of people that come to mind but they certainly I guess began to instil this disposition in me that we can all be leaders and that that doesn't come with a hierarchy or a title it just comes
Amie Fabry (04:26)
Mmm.
Adam (04:31)
in our everyday being and we learn to step in and out of this leadership disposition, you know, as needed. So I think that while being a leader with an official title was somewhat abstract when I first started teaching, it soon became something I aspired to because I wanted to embody the people that I was working with. So I guess...
The way I see my day to day now is trying to be the leader who sits beside or sits alongside. Kind of like this idea of pedagogical companionship, which Anne Pelloe and Margie Carter talk about so much that my day to day looks like sitting with and being alongside, you know, in the curiosity of everyday life with children and with co-educators. So some days that looks like
being an educational leader in my place and space in South Australia. Other times that looks like visiting services as a coach or a mentor. And other days it looks like facilitating professional learning for large groups of educators. So there's lots of diversity in my everyday, but always a gift and a privilege.
Amie Fabry (05:39)
Mm, that's so beautiful. I love that story. There's always a reason I think why we get into the work we do and we're called in different ways and you know, it is so shaped by our own experiences. So I really love hearing people's unique stories because I guess I think it's so important that that influences who we become and how we show up and what's
important to us, you know, as leaders, as educators. And I really love this idea of being a pedagogical companion. I love the work of Anne Pello and Maggie Carter. That book is beautiful, isn't it? What a wonderful role that you have in this space. So tell me more about your role as a leader. You obviously work in different ways.
in a service, but also supporting educators in other services. Tell me about your journey as a leader. What is it kind of? Yeah. Anything that comes to mind, just go.
Adam (06:28)
Yeah.
It's a big question, right?
You know, I think for me, stepping into leadership.
has been such a journey of self exploration to truly begin to get to know who you are inside, what your beliefs are, what your ethics are, what you think or values important for children and communities. So I think as a leader, moving in and out of places, which I have the privilege to do, it always starts with, know, what place and space am I in right now?
Amie Fabry (06:41)
Mm-hmm.
Adam (07:02)
You know, what is the local community telling me? What's important to these educators, these children and these families? And of course we draw from a wide range of contemporary research and evidence, but I think at its core, it's like, what do I need to know about this place and space?
Actually, my good friend Kelly Goodsir said on the weekend, you know, it's about trying softer. And so maybe when I step into places, it's about treading carefully on the histories of those places to understand, you know, what's going on here and how can I be the best support in this place? And of course, the diversity of concepts which we uncover as leaders are far and wide, right?
Amie Fabry (07:26)
Mmm.
Mmm.
Adam (07:45)
everything from compliance to planning for children's learning to supporting self-regulation. But I don't think it's about having all of those knowledges or skills. It's just being able to draw from a backpack of experiences and a willingness to research what do I need to know right now.
Amie Fabry (08:01)
Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. I think, you know, that idea of just the self exploration, first and foremost, if I think about my own journey as a leader, you know, I certainly had, I'll be honest, no idea, you know, what am I doing? And what does this mean? It is, it has been a journey for me of figuring out
Adam (08:07)
you
Amie Fabry (08:20)
the next step and being responsive and listening and paying attention to the context, which is everything. What have been some of your big learnings about leadership? If you think about maybe from where you started, you know, in this journey of self-exploration, treading softly, you know, I love those terms. What have been some of the big takeaways for you when you think about leadership?
Adam (08:44)
Yeah, I think, you for me, when I think about leadership, it's that our role is to grow with and alongside others. And that when we hold this leadership hat sometimes, and before the podcast, we had a quick chat, that we often sit in a space of feeling like we have to know all, that there needs to be a a plan in place.
Amie Fabry (08:52)
Mmm.
Mmm.
Adam (09:10)
to move the team and the practice or to create change. And of course, our job as leaders is to inspire and to stretch everyone's professional identity so that children have the very best possible outcomes that they can. But I don't necessarily think now having lived through different leadership roles, preschool director, childcare center director.
someone leading systemic professional learning in a government organization, that I think the basis for this learning and this challenge of leadership is actually getting to the belief systems of educators. To know what are the assumptions and beliefs and experiences that people have or haven't had that drive the decisions that they make.
Amie Fabry (09:49)
Hmm.
you
Adam (09:58)
And I think when we spend time sitting in what can be a really vulnerable space with people to have those conversations around their theories of action, we can kind of begin to decide, okay, what is it that we're going to do together now? So I think my learning as a leader is to sit more comfortably in a space of playing the long game.
Amie Fabry (10:14)
Mmm.
Mmm.
Adam (10:23)
You know that
creating change or pedagogical change or systemic change or structural change actually takes time. And we really do as leaders often hold ourselves to very high expectations about the sense of responsibility, the ethics, the care of that work.
Amie Fabry (10:34)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yes!
Adam (10:43)
but perhaps being a little bit gentler with us and those around ourselves to make a decision that it's okay that this might take a little bit longer than we anticipated.
Amie Fabry (10:53)
Hmm.
Hmm. They are some powerful learnings, Adam. There's a few things I want to come back to. Like the importance of values, I think is something I'm reflecting on quite a lot. And, you know, we were both also talking about working across the sector in, you know, not only long daycare preschool, but also in the early years of school. And, you know, for me, something I'm, I'm
really reflecting on a lot lately is the place of values and how we tap back into our values as a driving point to make really good informed, intentional and responsive decisions as opposed to feeling like we're having to react to a lot of things that are happening, which we do see. I know I certainly see in the context that I'm working. So I think that piece is really powerful to think about as leaders.
how do we make space and time? And I think holding the space for people to feel vulnerable because when you're talking about practice and what you do versus why you do it, the why is where people do feel more attached. They do need to be more vulnerable because now we're tapping into personal beliefs and theories as opposed to, know,
I've put this here or I haven't, you something a bit more superficial, I guess, in terms of an action. How do you find the best way to get into that kind of space with people and create an environment where they might be willing and open to having a deeper conversation?
Adam (12:24)
It's a great question and it's such a big one, right? But I think you pulling out that idea of vision and values is so important. If we can spend the time.
deciding and cultivating and consulting in our communities, with our families, with our co-educators, with those around us, what's the vision for learning in this place? Then I think all of the other decisions kind of fall in place much easier. You end up with kind of this guiding pillar, well, we do this because, and we don't do that because. And I think we actually enable...
Amie Fabry (12:52)
Mmm.
Adam (13:01)
a whole raft of other decisions to be made really quickly when we're clear on what our visions are. And, you know, I mean, I've got really clear experiences and examples in mind from over the weekend attending a large early childhood conference in Sydney, the Inspire Conference, and as simple as Dr Gay Lindsey, who, you know, shared so much of her arts practice with us.
Amie Fabry (13:05)
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Adam (13:24)
You know,
if our vision is children are competent and capable, and that's what we believe, that's what we think, that this is a place of learning for all, but then we're faced with Mother's Day and we decide that everyone's going to cut out a love heart and stick it on a card. Well, we're not living those visions and values, so it becomes much easier for us as educators if we've identified that vision and value to say, well, we don't do that in this place because it's not actually connected to.
Amie Fabry (13:33)
Hmm.
Mmm.
Hmm.
Adam (13:50)
But
I think getting to that point takes a lot of bravery and courage. So I think it is actually about starting in your service, in your school, in your preschool, whatever that looks like, at what are the organizing structures and systems in our place for having time together? And we all feel like time is a barrier, but we only have the time that we have. We don't have any more time. The days aren't gonna get any longer.
Amie Fabry (13:55)
Hmm.
Hmm.
Adam (14:17)
And yes, we know that budgets sometimes govern that time, but I think we have to get much more creative about how are going to use the time that we have. The 15 minutes at the start of the day, the 15 minutes at the end of the day, what are we going to choose to spend the hour staff meeting talking about? So I think we have to get really deliberate. And then if we choose to say, we want to go down this pathway of visions and values.
Amie Fabry (14:25)
Mmm.
Mm-hmm.
Adam (14:41)
I think we have to be really strategic about setting up safe spaces to do that. You know, so, I mean, I always think of Brene Brown and this, you know, how do I, going to set up a brave and vulnerable space where people are willing to lean in and have this conversation with and alongside me? And so maybe it's taking some great questions from her data lead work, you know, how do I want to show up in this work? What does vulnerability look like for me?
Amie Fabry (14:50)
Mm-hmm
Mmm.
Adam (15:06)
How do I want someone to come and talk to me when it's all going wrong? So I think there's this initial experience which is being brave as a leader to say, we're gonna start setting up the conditions for having brave conversations and making sure they are documented and visible and lived through the everyday and that we revisit them.
Amie Fabry (15:09)
Yeah.
Mmm.
Mm-hmm.
Adam (15:29)
time and time and time again that this idea of cultivating a culture of reflection doesn't happen just once. It happens all the time and it might be as simple as okay we've agreed at our place that we listen to each other, we respond with care and we invite alternate perspectives. Well do we remind each other of those three things every single time we meet? You know or is there a visual cue on the table that says
Amie Fabry (15:51)
Mmm.
Adam (15:55)
this is how we're going to show up in this meeting with care and empathy and kindness for one another. And if we have some of those kind of value systems in place, those cultural agreements, then we can start to dig in a little bit deeper and decide what do we value in this space? And we can begin to challenge one another on those value systems.
Amie Fabry (16:00)
and
What a brilliant answer. That's so good. I think, you know, it comes back to even what you were talking about initially about this space, you know, considering time, how do we use our time, but also giving ourselves as leaders time, giving our colleagues time to do this work because you can't have vulnerable conversations as a one-off and you can't, you know, really get to building shared, like truly shared vision and values.
in one meeting. So it does take time, but it also takes time to create the conditions in which you can have those really meaningful conversations, right? So, you know, I love that you're talking about time because I think too, you know, it is, we live in such a fast paced world and particularly when we're falling into the reactive zone, it's really hard to carve out that time. But I think, you know, for me, as you were talking, I'm reflecting on it's really about priority, isn't it? Because
Adam (17:08)
Yeah.
Amie Fabry (17:09)
There isn't, you know, I'm yet to meet an educator or a leader who says, oh, I've got plenty of time. You know, everyone's looking for time. If we only have a finite amount of time, the question has to become, well, how are we using our time and how do we use it well for us as educators to do that deep work like you're talking about, to actually be clear about what we stand for and what we value so that then we can make good decisions going forward.
we know where we're headed, but also we can be reflecting on our practice along the way. We really have to do that groundwork as leaders. And, you I love too that you mentioned Brene. I love Brene's work and Dare to Lead is such a brilliant book. But you know, what is our role then as leaders in creating that space and modeling the kinds of expectations or behaviors that we might want our colleagues to also adopt and
you know, making time to even be really explicit about how we come together and what are our ways of working that are going to enable all of us to actually really listen to each other and learn from each other, but feel safe to contribute is just so important as leaders. What have been some of the challenges I'm really curious to know in your experience as a leader?
You know, we can talk about all of these wonderful things that definitely make a difference. But sometimes it's harder to put in place than it is to talk about. What are some of the challenges that you've come up against as a leader?
Adam (18:35)
Yeah, look, it's probably like a good time or an okay time to kind of go. There are lots of challenges in the current context or current space and place of our profession.
Amie Fabry (18:48)
Mm-hmm.
Adam (18:49)
you know, probably too often our profession maybe goes without the quality training or the quality of enumeration or the quality time and recognition to do the work that we need to do. So I think it's a time for us to stand up and talk about these challenges in a really positive and professional light of advocacy for young children and the work that we do.
Amie Fabry (19:04)
Mmm.
Mm-hmm.
Adam (19:16)
I think, you know, we're probably talking about a time of systemic change. And so lots of services that I'm working with are talking about or wanting to think about what is the advocacy that they need to do at those local, state and federal levels to drive that meaningful change. So I'm really grateful to those services for wanting to champion that conversation.
Amie Fabry (19:21)
Mm-hmm.
Adam (19:37)
And then I think about, what are the everyday kind of challenges that I see? And I think one of the most significant barriers to change or one of the significant challenges that we see is often this idea of the systems that sit within side services.
So over time, I think we build structures, we build systems, we build processes that were all designed to help us at some point. And then the world kind of spins, staff change, people move, a new regulation comes in place and these systems, structures or processes no longer serve us as well as they need to. And I think we're often
Amie Fabry (19:56)
Mm-hmm.
Hmm.
Adam (20:18)
because we work so hard on developing them, we can become unaware that they are now.
Amie Fabry (20:22)
Mm-hmm.
Adam (20:26)
inhibiting the work that we need to do. So I think it's sometimes about working alongside again, alongside leaders, alongside educators, alongside teachers to kind of let go of these long standing ways of being, you know, and people often say, you know, the sacred cows, the things that we've always done, because we've always done them, you know, how do we rethink, adapt, change?
the things that are happening in our services to make life work better for us, know, to maybe to create more time.
Amie Fabry (20:55)
Mm.
Yeah, absolutely. And I think some of those sacred cows can be like the structural things, but they can also be cultural things, right? Like, these are, this is how we do things here. You know, it could be a way of working, but it also could be just the processes that are in place and the structural elements. I'm reflecting on this and thinking, you know, back to your earlier point, this is why we need really clear visions, right? So that we can actually know what is it that we want
to be doing to support children. And then we can look at some of those aspects as well, like our culture and our systems and processes. What do we need to actually bring our vision to life? I guess asking questions and reflecting on what have we got in place that's helping us do that and what's getting in the way. But being able to really challenge.
and question, know, it is about questioning because there are certainly lots of things that work really well. You know, we're not suggesting get rid of everything, but to be able to know confidently that these systems and these cultural norms or these ways of working are really enabling us as leaders, educators to support our children and families. But these are the ones that maybe need some rethinking. But that takes a lot of courage, right, to really, and time, you know, to prioritize that.
thinking rather than just kind of keep going with the status quo.
Adam (22:18)
Yeah, I agree. And how do we prioritise which ones we want to change? What informs those choices? So I think, you sometimes we have to focus on doing a fewer number of things and doing them well and doing them over time. So, OK, this year we're working on family participation. What does that look like? There's no quick wins here, but we're going to think about it together all year.
Amie Fabry (22:30)
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Adam (22:41)
And I think
some of that process often involves us letting go of what the doing looks like. So we kind of get caught in the doing of the action, the observable thing that's making a change. And I think us as leaders in particular, we go, what am I truly doing? What do I have at the end of the day that shows that I have some kind of output rather than kind of going,
Amie Fabry (22:49)
Mmm. Mmm.
Adam (23:05)
Well, the strategy is we're going to talk about it for four weeks. It's okay that we're talking about this idea. You know, we've had, we're talking about this idea and it's only going to be for five minutes a day for four weeks. But out of that might come an idea. We don't have to jump into a decision straight away because that jumping in could lead us down a pathway that again inhibits the kind of change that we want to make.
Amie Fabry (23:09)
Yes.
Mmm.
Mmm.
Absolutely. Yeah, and I think that's where we often just get stuck in similar ways of working, know, that kind of rebadged as opposed to going deeper and sitting with the unknown, like that's uncomfortable. But, you know, when we create that space and time to plant seeds and ideas and questions, but collectively we can actually ponder and
Adam (23:37)
Yeah.
Amie Fabry (23:54)
ruminate over things, you know, we might then come up with a new way of approaching something that we've never even thought of, or it's never come across our minds. giving it that space to kind of percolate, build off other people's ideas might actually mean we end up in a really different place than making a quick decision, which is often framed through the lens of this is what we've seen and done before.
Adam (24:17)
Yeah, and I love this. Just last week I was working with a group of educators and they were talking about, know, how are we going to change some of our documentation processes here? We're not sure if this is like connecting with our families. Great questions to be asking, like fabulous questions. And then, you know, a couple of educators new to the service threw up some provocations about, this is what I used to do at mine.
Amie Fabry (24:32)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Adam (24:40)
And I thought, this is really diligent, everyone's writing down these ideas and I've got permission to share this story. But everyone sort of hopped up and said, right, we're gonna do it. And I was really proud of the Ed leader who called them back to action to when, hang on, we love these ideas, they're fantastic ideas, but they haven't solved a problem in our local context yet.
Amie Fabry (24:47)
Mm-hmm.
Adam (25:02)
Let's put these ideas on the table. Let's throw them up on the wall in the staff room, but let's talk about it for a few more weeks before we make this decision. Do we wanna put this out to community yet? And or what are the questions we wanna ask of our community before we make this decision? So yeah.
Amie Fabry (25:02)
Mmm.
Mmm. Mmm.
Hmm. What a beautiful example. We can just be so quick to want to fix the problem, right? Then sit with it and think of it deeply. Yeah, wow, that's, that's such a great example. And, you know, if I reflect on the role of the ed leader, you know, as leaders, no matter what our role is, or title, you know, back to your earlier point, it's really about being brave, I think, just
Adam (25:24)
Yeah.
Amie Fabry (25:43)
ask the question or even encourage everyone, including ourselves, to slow down, you know, and finding that balance between moving forward, you know, we don't want to slow down to the point that we don't do anything, but being mindful of how, you know, are we making quick rash decisions or are we really connecting deeply with what this means for children and families and our context?
versus just trying to find a quick solve. And you know, there's no magical answer because it's all about context, right? But yeah, you know, it really does take some courage, I think, to say, hold on, let's just sit with this or let's think about it or here's some more questions than to just jump to the quick solution. I wanna backtrack.
Adam (26:13)
Yeah.
Amie Fabry (26:29)
briefly. This is such a great conversation and there's just so many things I want to keep unpacking with you. But you mentioned earlier advocacy and some of the challenges that are happening, which, you know, challenges happen in context, but they are also obviously very public facing at the moment in terms of policy reform and what's being discussed and what's happening across the sector more broadly. Can you talk to me more about
advocacy and what does that look like for you as a leader in the work that you do and how does that help us as leaders to be leaders in the sector?
Adam (27:04)
So like it's a big question in the current context. So I think I ask, I'm asking of myself and I'm asking of the teams that I'm working with at the moment, what can we do in this current context? And of course it might be filling out every survey that we get the opportunity to fill out at the moment. Even if sometimes we feel like those answers don't go anywhere, maybe they will.
Amie Fabry (27:28)
Mm-hmm.
Adam (27:29)
And you you might be speaking out in a professional and respectful way, but I think one of the largest things that we can do at the moment is be constantly reflecting on children's rights. Children's rights to a quality service, children's rights to a quality environment, children's rights to educators who show up every day and give it their best, children's rights to educators working in partnership with their families.
There are whole range of things and I think what sits alongside that is children's right to us making these early childhood spaces visible in our community. So how we are illuminating the learning and the possibilities that can happen.
Amie Fabry (28:10)
Hmm.
Adam (28:16)
in this time of children's learning and development and growth. So possibly, you my passion is working with educators on how they design for, plan and assess learning and the documentation that sits alongside that. I think we can use our documentation as a really powerful advocacy tool at the moment to make visible the competent and capable child who has the right to.
Amie Fabry (28:39)
Hmm.
Adam (28:42)
a quality early years education.
Amie Fabry (28:44)
Yeah, that's absolutely beautiful. think what I'm hearing you say is, the role of advocacy is something that I guess we all have a responsibility as educators and leaders in the sector, whether that is, you know, showcasing and making visible children's capabilities through documentation, whether it's having a conversation about children's rights with our colleagues, with families and within our communities.
or whether it is at a larger scale, know, filling out a survey and having a voice beyond our service. When we think about some of the reform and conversations and policy changes that might be coming or being made for the sector more broadly. Do you have any advice for people who, you know, I'm thinking about leaders and
think we share a view that leaders are all of us. We're all leaders in the sector. We don't need the title. But do you have any advice for anyone working in the sector?
around how they can advocate for children, how they can advocate for the profession, or how they might just step forward and keep going as leaders. You sometimes I think if I reflect on a lot of the leaders that I work with myself, you know, there are lots of challenges and you mentioned some of them before. We do face challenges. How do we keep going? How do we keep advocating for children and keep
doing what we can as individuals to support our colleagues, our services, our children, our families, and try and contribute to the sector. Do you have any advice? I know I'm asking you lots of very big questions.
Adam (30:16)
No, it's a really, it's a big question, but it's an important question. And maybe if I pull it down to the everyday practice level at the moment, you know, what can we do during this time? And I draw on a number of colleagues here that spoke over the weekend. Kelly Goodser, Dr Deborah Harcourt, Dr Ben Mardel spoke over the weekend. You know, I think we have to be
Dr. Angela Malloy spoke on the weekend, but I think what we have to be doing when I think about what they spoke about over the weekend and the reflections that I had with my colleagues is we have to be seeing and finding the everyday moments of joy in our work. We have to be looking for the moments of hope that illuminate the importance of children's lives in our setting and raising these up and sharing them.
and in as many possible ways that we can, you know, obviously ethically. Because I think when we start to see the hope in our everyday, we start to develop the muscle memory or the bravery for us to go, today was a good day and I can go back tomorrow. It's a little bit of that positive psychology, right? You know, today was a good day. What were the moments that were significant in the lives of children today? What did I learn about today?
Amie Fabry (31:25)
Mm-hmm.
Adam (31:32)
What can we do together tomorrow? And know, Deb Harcourt took a lot on the weekend about we have to do something, right? So what is it that we're gonna do differently tomorrow that was a little bit differently to today to make an impact to the lives of children? And they don't have to be always big radical acts, but they can be small achievable steps that make the world a better place, right?
Amie Fabry (31:46)
Hmm.
Mmm.
Mm, that's so beautiful. I love that. And it's so pertinent right now, I think, you know, when for many educators and leaders, you know, the reality is a lot of people are feeling really overwhelmed and really burnt out. But to be able to remind ourselves and then remind the people around us, you know, the to notice the moments of joy.
to really notice the moments of connection that we have with children, which is the real reward of working alongside children, right? But then to be looking for that hope, guess, I think that is such an important message because without hope, where are we left? It feels really bleak when we don't have hope. So I think that's a really powerful.
reminder for everyone in the sector and for leaders in particular to be looking for those moments of joy, those moments of magic, but also to actually see and hold on to hope and look for the opportunities because, know, like you said, no matter how small or big they are, I think collectively when we're all looking at the sector, looking at our contexts, that is where
there's always going to be something we can do if we're noticing those opportunities and we're noticing the really valuable, rich connections and learning and experiences that are happening with children each and every day.
Adam (33:17)
Absolutely.
Amie Fabry (33:17)
I have one last question, Adam. When you think about the future for early childhood education,
Adam (33:23)
Mm-hmm.
Amie Fabry (33:23)
What do you see and what role do you think leadership and advocacy is going to play in sort of shaping, I guess, a better future for our young children?
Adam (33:37)
Look, I think undoubtedly, yes, we're in a time of significant change and reform. And I think as leaders, our role is to be, you know, attuned to those things, but while also holding steady in the work that we are doing. So maybe our work over the next little while is...
again back to vision and values. So if I think about mine it's holding a space of curiosity, holding a space of nurturing our community and our educators as thinkers, holding a space for children and families to be co-constructors of this space, to embrace curiosity, to be really self-aware of ourselves and how we show up as teachers and educators.
and to be responsive of the everyday that's unfolding for us. We spoke a little bit earlier, you know, it would be really easy for us all to be super reactive right now and certainly there are some things that we absolutely need to be reactive to.
But I think if we go to the day-to-day, it's about how we're responding to our local community at this time and space and what is it that they need from us or to do with us.
Amie Fabry (34:37)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, that's wonderful. think I really love that focus on self, know, our who are we and how are we contributing and supporting people around us? You know, to be the thinkers and co-constructors, as you said, to be responsive, to really know our context well and to listen and to hear the various voices that we walk alongside.
Adam (34:53)
Mm.
Amie Fabry (35:11)
I think that's such a beautiful thing, you know, because we are all so different. Our children are so different. Our families and communities are so different. You know, back to one of your earlier points, we don't have to have all the answers as leaders. We actually need to listen and we need to learn and we need to be reflective of ourselves, but also enable and support others to be reflective. And I think the more we do that,
collectively. You know, I think there is so much hope for us to continue not only the amazing work that already happens in the sector, but to be able to continue to see the opportunities of where we can enhance opportunities for our children to thrive and our families to thrive and our communities to thrive. Thank you so much for your time.
and your insights. I've just loved listening to you. could listen to you for hours. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your experience with me. It's been such a joy.
Adam (36:06)
you're so incredibly welcome. It's so lovely to be in conversation with you and hopefully again soon.
Amie Fabry (36:12)
Absolutely. Thanks, Adam.
Adam (36:14)
Thanks.
