Leadership is Not a Dictatorship!: Head Start Policy Council 21st Century Leadership

Using narrative voice as the qualitative method of inquiry, this research investigated how embodied leadership has potential to build capacity through professional knowledge networks and leadership skill building within the Head Start Policy Council and Head Start classroom communities and explored transformative embodied leadership's connection to critical hope, belonging, and quality of life. This research provides actionable next steps for responding with transformative agility and integrity to address systemic leadership issues relevant to the lives of people currently experiencing hopelessness or at risk of losing hope in leadership. This research promotes 1) supportive strategies that provide opportunities for leadership skill and capacity building, sustaining critical hope, belonging and classroom community leadership culture; 2) promotes upward mobility and self-reliance to assists in creating a sustainable leadership culture promotes 3) strategies to respond to the knowledge and information gaps identified to provide transformative, embodied leadership and interdisciplinary leadership skill and capacity building opportunities; and 4) suggests key stakeholders and leaders should create better ways of ensuring equity for all Head Start parents/guardians.