Balancing Head and Heart: The Dual Role of Every Great Leader
- Great leaders balance heart (leading people with vision and empathy) and head (managing operations with logic and structure).
- Leading inspires growth and builds a supportive culture, while managing ensures consistency, safety, and efficiency in daily tasks.
- Effective directors balance their time, dedicating roughly 60% to leadership activities and 40% to management tasks for optimal growth.
- Mastering both roles empowers teams, smooths operations, and allows leaders to focus on long-term strategy instead of daily problems.
Lead Well. Manage Smartly. Thrive.
Thriving child care centers don’t just happen—they’re built by leaders who know how to balance heart and head. Leading requires vision, inspiration, and the ability to bring out the best in people. Managing requires structure, organization, and keeping day-to-day operations running smoothly. Lean too heavily on one side, and both operations and quality can suffer.
In this article, I’ll share insights from decades of child care leadership on how to master this delicate balance—so your center can not only survive but truly thrive.
Leading with Your Heart
Leading is about inspiring, motivating, and connecting with people. It requires emotional intelligence, empathy, and a deep understanding of your team. When done well, it makes staff feel valued and supported, boosting retention, collaboration, and overall program quality.
Key aspects of leading with your heart include:
- Inspiring, motivating, and connecting with people
- Demonstrating emotional intelligence and empathy
- Building a supportive, engaging team culture
Managing with Your Head
Management is about logic, organization, and structure. It ensures that systems, schedules, budgets, and compliance are in place, keeping operations safe, efficient, and financially sustainable.
Key aspects of managing with your head include:
- Implementing structure and organization
- Maintaining systems, schedules, budgets, and compliance
- Ensuring operations run efficiently and reliably
Are You More of a Leader or a Manager?
If you are in charge of operating a child care center it’s important to reflect: Am I naturally more of a leader or a manager? Use the characteristics below to help identify your strengths:
Characteristics of a Leader:
- Vision-Oriented: Sets a clear direction and inspires others toward long-term goals.
• People-Focused: Builds trust, fosters relationships, and motivates others.
• Innovative: Encourages creativity and continuous improvement—both personally and among the team.
• Influence-Based: Gains commitment through inspiration rather than authority.
• Future-Minded: Anticipates challenges and adapts effectively to change.
• Empowers Others: Identifies and develops individuals capable of sharing responsibility for daily operations.
Characteristics of a Manager:
- Task-Oriented: Ensures daily operations run smoothly
- Structure-Focused: Establishes rules, systems, and procedures
- Control-Based: Monitors performance and enforces standards
- Problem-Solving: Addresses immediate issues and maintains consistency
- Present-Minded: Focuses on short-term objectives
- Directs Work: Assigns tasks and checks for their completion
Rule of thumb: “Manage for consistency, lead for growth.”
Balancing Leadership and Management
A high-functioning director should spend at least as much time leading as managing, especially once systems are strong and reliable. When you focus as much on leadership as you do on management, you not only strengthen your center—you also create more balance in your own life.
Once your systems are running smoothly and your team is in place, it’s time to step back a bit from the daily grind and focus on guiding, inspiring, and developing your people. For centers serving 100 or more full-time children, successful directors often find that a 60% leadership / 40% management balance works best.
Directors who reach this point report feeling less overwhelmed and more fulfilled. Why? Because their teams are empowered, their operations run more smoothly, and they have time to think strategically instead of constantly putting out fires. In short, leading well allows you to create a stronger center and a healthier work-life balance for yourself.
When that balance is achieved, your daily routine begins to look much like what’s outlined below.
Management (Operational Tasks) ~40–50%
Focus: Ensuring smooth daily operations, compliance, and systems.
Examples:
- Licensing, safety, and regulatory compliance
- Enrollment, billing, and budgets
- Staffing schedules and coverage
- Parent communication and issue resolution
- Reporting and administrative work
This work ensures stability, structure, and accountability—the “head” that keeps the center running.
Leadership (People & Vision) ~50–60%
Focus: Developing people, culture, and quality improvement.
Examples:
- Coaching and mentoring teachers
- Conducting classroom observations and providing feedback
- Building team morale and recognition
- Leading professional development and training
- Strengthening community and family partnerships
- Driving vision and long-term goals for quality and growth
This work builds engagement, retention, and excellence—the “heart” that makes the center thrive.
By intentionally balancing leading with your heart and managing with your head, child care directors can create centers where staff are motivated, operations run smoothly, and children flourish. It’s not about choosing one over the other—it’s about mastering both to create a thriving, high-performing program.
“Leaders do the right things. Managers do things right.” — Peter Drucker
