Julie Bartkus helps leaders manage, motivate and retain great staff through eliminating destructive communication patterns and mindsets that keep teams stuck.
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home | Dont face your leadership challenges . . .





Don't face your leadership challenges alone!

Tools
, support and answers you need are right here.

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Immediately applicable tips, strategies, and ideas to help you manage, motivate and retain great staff in your child care program are available RIGHT NOW!

You are about to embark on an informational and fun journey that will help you minimize your stress, increase your energy, have more time to focus on the things you value most and create a dynamic, positive and productive team.  Sound good so far?

Log in to this site and discover:

  • Over 70 audio programs to help you manage, motivate and retain great staff: listen in to topic experts discussing time-tested, results getting strategies to the challenges that child care leaders face on a daily basis.View topic listing.

  • Forms Resource Library: this section of our site features forms that have been submitted by your colleagues or created by the Leadership Connection Team.  If you don't see a form you need, no worries - email us and we'll create it for you.

  • Member's Only Discussion Forum: Post your challenges and receive support, suggestions and strategies.



Plus you'll earn a certificate for 1 CEU from the comfort of your workplace or home when you listen to 10 of our audio programs!  This is included with your membership!  A brief questionnaire will need to be completed along with a request for the certificate.


Plus you'll receive a new CD in the mail every month featuring a leadership topic, staff appreciation idea and team building activity. View topic line-up.


Plus when you activate your gold annual membership you'll receive a 5 pack of leadership CDs valued at over $100.00.

Get Your FREE "Build Positive Relationships System" Exclusively For Child Care Leaders Today. This $100.00 value is yours when you activate your Annual Gold Membership today.



Learn More About This System!



 

There's so much to discover at the Leadership Connection including how to:

  • Inspire your team to make behavior changes (absenteeism, tardiness, desire to attend meetings, etc.)
  • Help your staff become more professional
  • Function as a dynamic team (leaders & staff!)
  • Increase your team's confidence (as well as your own!)
  • Get staff out of the "us" vs. "them" mindset
  • Communicate more effectively with staff and parents
  • Create a less stressful environment (reduce tension and anxiety)
  • Have more time in your day so you can focus on the things you value most
  • Transform a "live body" into a valued employee
  • Motivate your team to reach new goals
  • Eliminate workplace gossip



Member Rave:

"It has been a lifesaver...I will be having an issue at work and a CD shows up to help me deal with that issue...You get so many ideas from every single CD..."  

-- Cori Berg, Director, Dallas, Texas
 

Our members state that they find solutions to the challenges and frustrations that keep them up at night here on this site.

Whether you need a few good tips for motivating your staff or you need to transform your working and learning environment--this website will help you!

Membership Plans

We currently offer 2 memberships: Gold and On-line Gold.



Gold (Monthly/Annual): 
You'll be mailed a CD every month featuring a leadership topic, staff appreciation idea and team building activity. Click here to view our current topic line-up.

Gain instant access to:

  • Hours of archived interviews with topic experts

  • Live Tele-Seminars on special topics related to early care and education

  • Our searchable resource library of how-to articles

  • Industry surveys that reveal successful practices of thousands of other child care leaders

  • Our members-only discussion forum

  • Team Building Activities

  • Staff Appreciation Ideas

  • new! On-line Confidential Staff Surveys:  this membership benefit is designed to help you get feedback from your staff.  No worries about your recognizing their handwriting or holding what they say against them with this process.  Every year we'll set up one survey for you with questions that you would like asked or with our standard questions.  Once the survey is created you'll receive a link that you can email your team or post it on-line for your staff to access.  Once the surveys are complete you'll receive a link that will give you access to survey responses.  Start working on solutions immediately!  Survey responses are limited to 100.  This membership benefit alone is worth thousands!  

  • new! Forms Resource Library:  we're expanding this library every month - filling it with print and implement forms.

  • And much more!

 



On-line Gold Membership: 
This membership plan allows you access to our discussion forums, conference calls, articles and document downloads. You'll also be able to access any audio program on this site. Members of this plan are not mailed our monthly CD.



You may be wondering: Can I afford the investment required to become a member?

The real question is can you afford not to join?

With turnover rates being as high as 70% - isn't it worth investing less than what you would pay for a good cup of coffee to discover immediately applicable strategies that work?  Strategies that will help you be the program with the lowest turnover rates and the most motivated, energized staff?  Talk about a competitive edge.  You'll have it.  

Here's another thing to think about: turnover is expensive!!  And having an unmotivated team is also expensive and frustrating.  Sit down for a few minutes and write out how much it costs you when an employee quits.  How much time and money do you spend on training and retraining, placing ads, interviewing, and doing damage control?  Many experts state that you can spend at least 30% of an employee's annual salary replacing that one employee.  Your membership will cost you only a fraction of that.  As a   matter of fact the investment you make will be less than what you typically pay for one help wanted ad!  So think about it - can you really afford not to become a member?   Our Annual Gold membership plan breaks down to only $4.70 per week or $1.52 a day.

Leadership support is right here - you are not alone!

We are here to listen to your challenges and help you formulate solutions.  In a recent survey conducted with child care leaders, 73% of the survey respondents stated that dealing with their staff was the biggest challenge they face when it comes to managing their child care programs.  Our web site, Leadership Connection for Child Care Professionals is jam-packed with a collection of valuable and easy-to-use resources designed to help you create a dynamic, positive and high-functioning team.


Membership Plan Options

Gold Membership $24.95/month
This option includes full access to this site, a new leadership CD via the mail every month. This plan does not include our free 5-pack of leadership CDs.

Gold Membership Annual $245.00/year
Save over $50.00 with this option!! It breaks down to $20.42 per month. This option includes full access to this site, a new leadership CD via the mail every month and a FREE 5-pack of leadership CDs valued at $100.00!

On-line Gold Membership $9.95/month
plus one-time registration fee of $87.00.

This economy membership plan allows you access to everything on this site - our discussion forums, conference calls, articles and document downloads. You'll also be able to access any audio program on this site. Members of this plan are not mailed our monthly CD.

 








Joining now will give you immediate access to all the resources in the member's only section. To join, Use our Secure online order form

Subscription Expired? expired? Renew here. Want to subscribe by phone? Call our toll-free number at 800-211-5671. QUESTIONS? Feel free to use our speedy contact form.


 
 

Your Colleagues Rave
About The Leadership Connection:



 

 

"It should be mandatory that every child care have this!"

 Nancy Dempsy, Owner, Norwood Early Learning Center
 


"I must say that this is a wonderful resource.  I am very impressed...  The problems that are discussed are endemic to our profession.  It is very gratifying to finally see answers to the problems that plague our field."

 Joanna Mikkelsen
 


"I was completely floored by the material
The information is 100% useful..."

Alice Alvarez, Director, Blessed Sacrament Academy 
 


"It's like having my own personal sounding board."

Helen Arthur, Supervisor, School-Age Program  
 


"I have learned a great deal about being a manager from the newsletters, website and CDs."

 Kathy Monahan, Owner, Massachusetts
 


"I love the Leadership Connection for child care!
I've found it to be of phenomenal help to me!"

 Tanya Gifford, Director, Kid's Round-Up 
 


"What a wealth of information. If my program didn't pay for my membership, I would pay for it myself. It's that good."

 Hope Wharton,  Executive Director
 


"I've learned so much through the Leadership Connection!  Julie offers a unique service to our industry --  it is
extremely valuable."

 Jean Hawks, Director, Fort Hill Child Dev. Center
 


"What you provide to us in the field is wonderful! 
Thank you very much..." 
Elaine Farmer
 


"Several months ago I joined your website. I love it!  After only a few months I'm sold... " 
Jane Tyson
 


"I am excited about using materials from your web site. It is great!       
Dr. Pheroba Ann Thomas, Childcare Resource Network
 

 
"I visited your site and WOW! What a wonderful
program for Childcare Professionals... I think your website is the answer to many prayers."  
Margaret Crum
 


"You are incredible! And I cannot thank you enough for the service
you are offering to so many people! I for one find it so helpful."  
Linda
 


"I just want to thank you for the wonderful materials this site
provides. I have not been a member for very long, but already I have received materials that I have used successfully with my staff. 
The first was the raffle question. We received this just a few days
prior to our all day staff training. We set it up and picked the
winner at the end of our training day. It was fun and stimulated a
lot of conversation during the days leading up to the drawing. We
are looking forward to the next raffle question.  Right now the staff are working on the crossword puzzle that just came out. Again it is stimulating a lot of conversation and enjoyment.  I really appreciate these fun activities. It helps to rejuvenate and reinforce early childhood topics without me having to lecture to them. They are enjoying it as well.  Please keep sending these tools.  They are great."
 L. Greasley, Member
 


"Kids First has been receiving the Cds for years and we use them a ton. The topics are so appropriate an address common and current topics. The information is shared at Director's Breakfasts, in newsletters and at staff meetings.  Thanks for the great information."
  Nancy Nichols
 


"I wanted to take a few minutes and tell you how much I appreciate your web site...When I found your site I was just thrilled. This is something that is so needed in the Early Childhood Community of which I have been a part for the last 23 years. Even veteran Directors and Managers will find things on this site that will be useful as it is always good to not only get refreshers but find and hear new things as well. I know myself as a Veteran Director that I sometimes find myself thinking, "I have tried it all" but, much to my surprise I was happy to find things that either I had tried many years ago and it didn't work or things that I hadn't even thought of! Many of us try things with one particular staff that don't work, but you may have amazing results with a completely different staff years later. Keep up the great work Julie! As professionals in the field of Early Childhood Education we have to motivate and cheer each other on because if we don't no one else will! Blessings to you!"
Gina D. Sarver Director Christ Church United Methodist Preschool